


A Home for Mending Souls

by Absent_Enigma



Series: Mending Souls [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Additional warnings/tags in notes, Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, House in the middle of nowhere, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Other additional tags will be in relevant chapter, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Slow Burn, This is a tag to say that all the bad stuff happened to the characters in the past, UF Sans and Papyrus in a bad place, Underfell monsters appear out of the blue, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, because these boys need a lot of TLC, but reader doesn’t know this, eventual poly relationship, rating for potential flashbacks and references to past trauma, recovery fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 30,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27285208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Absent_Enigma/pseuds/Absent_Enigma
Summary: Living in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself with some unexpected visitors on your property. You decide to let them stay with you in your home, because what’s another lost soul or two in an otherwise empty house?
Relationships: Papyrus (underfell)/reader, Sans (Underfell)/Reader
Series: Mending Souls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044447
Comments: 159
Kudos: 479
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another WIP that's prompt-based? It’s more likely than you think.  
> Each chapter for this will be 100-1000 words.
> 
> Day 1 Prompt: Rescue  
> Warnings: heavily implied past torture and abuse

Your mum always told you that your self-preservation skills were shit, and this situation you found yourself in seemed to lend credence to that observation.

There were currently two skeleton monsters in your home, brought there after you’d come across them bleeding out on your property. Calling for help would have taken too long, and you were sure at least one of the monsters would have dusted before your eyes if you'd waited for help to arrive.

So you'd taken matters into your own hands.

Everyone always wondered why you lived in the middle of nowhere, but right now, you suppose that being here, _in_ the middle of nowhere, was a good thing for your unexpected guests.

Your very badly wounded guests.

One was unconscious, and the other had just woken up in a blind panic.

That shitty sense of self-preservation didn’t kick in as you inched closer to the monster who was now half-curled on the floor issuing out distressed noises.

The skeleton noticed your approach, going completely limp with a bit back whimper, red eye lights watching you warily. 

The monster was taller, with sharper features than the unconscious one.

Beneath the tattered shirt and pants, you could see a whole lot of red sticking to those bones. Broken bits of teeth that appeared to have once been sharp fangs clenched together as best they could. You watched as the monster quietly rested their skull on the floor, making the scars over their left socket noticeable.

”You’re safe here.” You found yourself saying. It was sincere, and you hoped this monster could tell you meant it. “I won’t hurt you.”

The skeleton’s head turned away from you, the uneven tips of their phalanges digging into the carpet. 

“My...brother?” The monster eventually rasped out in a low, broken whisper.

”Both of you are safe here.” You clarified, a pang of sadness washing over you as those simple words caused the skeleton’s frame to slump in relief.

“Will do...whatever you want.” The monster said, his voice hoarse. 

“Then get some rest while I look for my med kit. I might even have some monster candy around.” You turned away to give the monster some privacy when you noticed translucent red tears start to fall onto the floor.

Had he expected you to say something else?

You moved to crouch down next to the smaller monster skeleton who had yet to wake, wincing in symphony over the state he was in. There were clearly broken bones from how he lay at an awkward angle. His skull held deep cracks on the sides of it and around an eye socket, while his fangs looked like they had been filed down from sharp points to rounded nubs.

The taller skeleton painfully dragged himself over to his brother, hand shakily reaching out to cling to the other's tattered long sleeved shirt, eye lights wary once more.

"I...have a spare bedroom?" You ventured, when nothing was said. 

Those translucent red tears began anew as the tall skeleton pressed his face into the tatters of his brother's shirt.

It seemed like you would be having house guests for the foreseeable future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 Prompt: First Day/Night  
> Warnings: character(s) in distress, implied past abuse.

This had been quite the ordeal, both for you and the skeleton monster who was awake.

It should have crossed your mind that the monster would have been suspicious of your intentions toward him and his brother, despite reassurances. You’d learned quickly to not get too close to the smaller, unconscious skeleton. So, once you returned with the med kit, you passed it over to the taller skeleton, along with a bucket of warm water and a towel to clean himself off with.

The monster did not remove the tattered shirt and pants, instead clearing off the blood as best he could through the tears in the fabric.

You didn’t blame him.

You wouldn’t want to undress in front of stranger either.

The monster didn’t seem to want to be touched, so you left him to it. When the skeleton reached for the bandages, you resisted the urge to offer your help with the way he kept looking at you. At least the monster seemed to be more coordinated than earlier.

”Are you going to be okay taking care of your brother’s wounds?” You asked when the monster set aside the med kit.

The tall skeleton monster’s eye lights shrank. He moved, grimacing, on hands and knees, to place himself between you and his brother, a mistrustful expression crossing his broken face.

You held up your hands in a placating gesture, and took a careful step back. “Well, if you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen. I should check to see what I have in the way of food, since there’s three of us in this house to feed now.”

The monster stared at you before he dropped his gaze.

You remained in the kitchen for a long time. You didn’t want to give the monster any reason to misplace trust in you by interfering when he didn’t ask for it. You only left the kitchen when you heard soft, pained whimpering.

In the living room, the larger monster had moved both himself and the other skeleton behind the couch, where there was barely enough room for them to fit.

You didn’t attempt to move the couch, nor did you try to coax the tall skeleton out from behind it. Whatever had happened to these monsters...if that was where they wanted to spend their first night, then that was their choice and not yours. You would, however, check to make sure they were all right, and offer blankets and pillows to make it more comfortable back there.

“Hey, uh...” Right, you didn’t know either of their names.

“No!” The monster jerked his skull up at you, eye lights gone as he half-curled himself around to the smaller skelton. The sockets closed as the skeleton issued out a distressed noise and pressed his face into the smaller’s shoulder. “Don’t take him away...take me instead.”

Shit.

You hadn’t meant to scare him.

”I’m not taking anyone anywhere.” You put on as soothing of a voice as you could, holding up a blanket. 

The skeleton let out a shaky breath before he tipped his skull backwards, his whole body quivering.

The angle allowed you to see scratches and chips in the exposed vertebrae, and you were sure it continued on down to the sternum beneath the shirt. The sight made you sick to your stomach, especially when you came to the conclusion that the monster was waiting for you to harm him.

What in the actual hell?

“If you want to stay back there, that’s fine.” You needed the monster to stop offering his neck like that. “I just wanted to see if you finished treating your brother’s injuries, and to ask if you’d like a blanket. Or a pillow. I can always show you the spare bedroom tomorrow.” You waited there with the blanket, trying to present yourself as non threatening as possible. You had told him he was safe, and you meant that.

The monster hesitantly lifted his skull back up, sockets opening to reveal wary red eye lights. He stared at you for a long moment, as if assessing your words. Then, the skeleton monster minutely relaxed the tight curl he had held around his brother. The monster spoke in that still-hoarse voice. “He will not dust.”

It appeared as though the monster was trying to reassure himself more than you of this fact.

“It does seem...a little cold.” The monster continued on, those eye lights flicking back in your direction and than away to settle on the fabric in your hands. “A blanket would be...acceptable.”

You took that as your cue to carefully drape the blanket half over the two skeleton monsters, not wanting to make them feel smothered. “The doors and windows are locked, and I have a security system.” You offered as you slowly backed away. “I can stay on the other side of the living room, so if there’s anything you need tonight, I’ll be close by.”

Why did the monster look so confused by your offer?

”Is that...okay? I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. If my presence bothers you, I can stay in my bedroom for the night.” When you didn’t receive a response, you wondered if you said something wrong, until you saw those translucent red tears began to form again, sliding down from the monster’s sockets.

The skeleton buried his head beneath the blanket. After letting out a choked sob, he haltingly whispered, “...stay.”

For the first time in years, you slept on the living room floor with blankets and pillows, keeping your word to stay on the opposite side of the room. Throughout the night, you heard on and off distraught sobbing, broken pleas, and soft whimpering. At 4 in the morning, you were jolted completely awake by the most heart-wrenching scream of pure terror you’d ever heard in your entire life.

The other skeleton monster had woken up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m considering adding in 1st POV for the UF bros on occasion.
> 
> (Moved the note from ch 1 here, so that it doesn’t appear at the end of every single chapter).
> 
> I finally got inspiration for an Underfell bros x Reader fic after coming across comfortember's prompts on tumblr. Ofc it’s another recovery fic like the mermaid one basically is, if I ever get around to updating that one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Lashing Out  
> [UF Papyrus 1st POV]  
> Warnings/tags: characters in distress, aggravating wounds, lashing out while in a panic that results in further injuries.

The human’s living room was a complete disaster, courtesy of Sans reacting to our unexpected surroundings.

It would have been worse had I not intervened.

Despite my suspicions of the human who had brought us here, I could at least tell that there were no other souls in this house but the three of us. What the human had planned was another thing entirely, but not something I could pursue with the state I found myself in.

“boss?”

So, Sans _was_ awake, which meant he was not currently reliving one of those nightmares of his. But Sans was not likely to remain conscious for much longer. Not after that display of magic I had just witnessed.

“...boss?”

I twitched a few phalange against the floor in answer, but did not dare move much more than that. It hurt too much to try at present. Of _course_ Sans’ magic just so happened to deal additional damage to those with high LV. I would have been proud of my brother for fighting back, had we been in any other situation but this. I wondered if he had unwittingly ruined our chances of potential sanctuary by picking a fight with a human we knew nothing about.

“Wow.” Came the human’s awed voice.

I slowly turned my skull to the side.

Well, well, look at that.

Sans had not hit the human after all.

The human was currently gazing around at the damage done to the walls and furniture.

It was likely that Sans had just missed, since he was in worse shape than myself. It really was a wonder that my brother was not yet dust. I could take a beating just fine, as evidenced by his damned KR taking down my HP a few notches, but it was nowhere near as dangerously low as it had been days ago. 

“Papyrus?”

It had been...years, since I had heard Sans say my name. He had said something about not giving the humans who had captured us on this surface world the satisfaction of knowing our names before they separated us. It was still humiliating to think how I, the great and terrible Papyrus, had been taken so unawares back then.

“Sans.” I acknowledged, though more quietly than was usual for me. I let the uneven tips of my phalanges reach out to allow my brother to check them over, once he had staggered over to me. “No more damage...than has already been done. It will heal.”

Sans let go of my hand a moment later, posture stiffening when the human was suddenly closer to both of us.

”Do not attack.” I whispered harshly. “Though I have...reservations, I do not sense hostility, for once.” I saw the way Sans stared at the human. A faraway look. I always had a feeling he could see more of a soul than I or other monsters, but had never asked, nor cared to, as I was always too wrapped up in my work as captain of the royal guard.

Sans looked away after a moment, and then, to my concern, he started to laugh.

It was not a good sound.

It was unhinged and slightly hysterical.

The sight became more alarming when Sans gripped the sides of his skull, clawless fingers digging into the bone and scratching at it, coming away with bits of dust. Sans muttered nonsense between those terrible laughs as his fingers dug deeper and deeper into the cracks.

I forced myself up, and, despite feeling my left tibia and fibula crack, seized Sans’ hands, yanking them away from his skull. Those damned tears threatened to rise again as I watched the lights in Sans’ sockets extinguish, followed by another piercing, soul-rending shriek. Magic crackled in the air, and I grasped Sans’ wrists tighter as he tried to pull away, his terror and panic on the rise. As soon as I heard the rattling of bones, I braced myself for what was to come. I had ignored Sans’ night terrors for years as my duties as captain piled up, but these past few years on the surface...

I did what I could to help, now that I was free to see what I had not, or would not, see before.

Sans soon went lifeless in my grasp, as expected, his skull lolling to the side. He began emitting helpless whimpers, no doubt due to wherever his mind had taken him, reliving nightmares of all kinds, both recent and past.

I carefully laid Sans out on the floor, my own bones rattling as I turned to look at the human. Hating myself for the tears that fell from my sockets, _again_ , I gripped Sans’ shirt tightly. 

I was useless right now, since I was not as fortunate to have as much excess magic as Sans somehow still did.

My broken tibia and fibula felt close to dust.

The whimpering alongside me went on and on.

I sat down in order to stop putting pressure on my leg, my sockets closing for a brief moment to push back the pain before opening them again. The tears were flowing freely now, and in a barely there whisper, I forced words out through broken fangs.

”I...require your assistance, human.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the comfort is incoming. Just need to smooth things out a little between the characters, and establish the house as a safe place.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Exhaustion  
> Warnings: none

The next hour was a blur to you. 

There had been a lot to be done, once Papyrus had caved with desperation and asked for your help, including resetting his broken left fibula and tibia.

With use of some monster candy, Papyrus had been able to heal up some of the cracks that Sans had made larger in his own skull, once Papyrus had laid the smaller monster out on the couch.

After more tears, you left Papyrus to watch over his brother, while you ended up in the hallways as a makeshift sleeping place. You intended to catch a few more hours of sleep, but still wanted to be close enough to be of help if Papyrus needed something.

A few fitful hours of rest passed, before you were woken by a light tap on the wall. You sleepily lifted your head to find Papyrus peering down at you. 

“Is it really safe here?” Papyrus asked, his eye lights a little smaller than before, his voice quiet as he struggled to get the words out.   
  
“As safe as it can be in the middle of nowhere.” You said, sitting up as you stifled yawn with your hand. “I haven’t had any problems in the seven years I’ve lived here, other than service calls taking forever when the power goes out.”

”No one will attack this place?” Papyrus pressed, his voice turning into a hoarse rasp, eye lights flickering in their sockets.

”I don’t see why anyone would.” You answered honestly. “My closest neighbor, if you can call them that, is over 30 miles away.” You watched the monster lean against the wall, looking close to falling over. “I do have a security system, like I mentioned before, as well as some cameras. They’re mainly just for show, but it makes me feel better to have them.”

”I see...” Papyrus trailed off, his eye lights growing fainter than the vibrant crimson glow they’d been earlier.

You were on your feet and moving before you realized it, just in time to catch Papyrus as his left leg gave out on him. You frowned in worry over the trickle of laughter that rose from monster, his chest rising and falling rapidly before he went quiet. Carefully, you helped him lie on the floor, not wanting to try to move Papyrus from hallway to living room with his likely still-tender injuries, despite the monster candy he’d eaten.

”...What do you want from us?”

Papyrus was still awake?

And he’d let you touch him, after being averse to it earlier? 

”I don’t want anything.” You didn’t know how to explain that you just wanted to help. Why did you need a reason to do that?

”Everyone wants something.” Papyrus said bitterly, turning his skull to the side. “Name your terms.”

You were quiet for a moment before speaking.

”I want you and your brother to be able recuperate in peace, and I have more than enough room for you to stay here as long as you like. All I ask is that you tell me when you need help with something, like you did earlier.” 

Papyrus stared at you for a very long time before closing his sockets and issuing out a weak, rasping laugh, like he didn’t believe the words. 

You expected a rebuttal, but received none.

Papyrus’ sockets remained closed, his skull turned to one side, and you could see the dark lines that were beneath his sockets.

When was the last time Papyrus slept?

You had come across the two skeleton monsters outside in the snow, and Papyrus had been awake, just barely. As far as you were aware, he hadn’t closed his sockets since you’d brought him into the house.

Until now.

You hoped that Papyrus had taken your words to heart, erm, soul, and decided that it was safe enough to let his guard down to sleep. But you felt it was far more likely that Papyrus had simply pushed himself too hard, and with the rough shape he was already in, his body had finally decided to give out on him.

When Papyrus woke, you hoped that he could see that you’d been telling him the truth.

That it was safe here, and no one would hurt them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Service for a security system in the middle of nowhere is probably spotty at best, but eh, it’s a fic.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: Crying  
> Warnings/tags: threats of violence, breakdown

A week passed by with few incidents.

Papyrus seemed to want to believe that nothing bad would happen to him or his brother while staying at your house. Yet Papyrus continued to keep a wary distance from you unless he requested help. It was almost as if he were testing your words to not cause any harm.

As for Sans...

Sans made you nervous, and you couldn’t quite put your finger on why.

Maybe it was the way he stared at you when he could stand to be awake? The way Sans appeared to be silently judging you, and didn’t seem to care for what he found.

You dismissed your worries for the most part, focused on providing whatever help you could offer, whenever it was requested or appeared to be needed.

Late one night, a week and a half after you’d acquired your two house guests, Sans finally acted.

Just just as you were getting ready to go to bed, Sans suddenly appeared right behind you.

There was a low growl in his voice, rough as it was.

“what’re you plannin’?”

”I-“

”the fuck do ya want with us?”

“SANS!”

You winced at the sudden loud volume of Papyrus’ voice while Sans let out a low curse and slunk over to his brother with hunched up shoulders.

Papyrus’ tone dropped to a low hiss as he seized one of Sans’ arms to lead him back down the hall to the living room.

You decided to not press the issue, which appeared to thoroughly confuse Sans, as if he expected you to retaliate in some way for his behavior toward you.

Two days later, with a few more positive interactions with Papyrus, and you yet again found yourself cornered by Sans in the hallway. Despite your best efforts, you’d been unable to have an actual conversation with Sans.

A thin brittle bone of magic pressed against the side of your neck. This wasn’t how you pictured having that conversation. 

“what do ya want with us?” Sans rasped out, the tip of the bone against your skin pressing down harder. “what’d boss promise ya?”

”Nothing?” You were trying to figure out how to deescalate the situation.

”yer lyin’!” Sans insisted. “ya gotta want somethin’ from us to stay here.”

”I already told your brother that I just wanted the two of you to be able to recuperate in peace.” You really did have shitty self-preservation skills to not be more concerned about being threatened. “I don’t know what happened to the two of you, but I live alone and have the space, so why wouldn’t I let you two stay here as long as you’d like?”

The sharp tip of the bone moved away, and you heard a sharp, bitter laugh. You waited a beat before turning around to face Sans, who was staring down at his chipped and roughed-up hands.

“why the fuck would anyone let strangers into their home?” The laugh came again, slightly hysterical and a little unhinged like days ago, as Sans uttered something unintelligible. He swayed on his feet, his phalanges picking at the healed over cracks on either side of his skull. “ya don’t make any sense, fer a human. ya gotta want somethin’ from us...”

You caught Sans as he keeled over, and he struggled for a brief moment at the contact, hands grasping your sweater tightly as he dissolved into laughter, before those translucent red tears spilled forth. You carefully settled on the floor with Sans, his skull and shoulders ending up on your lap.

Sans had lost his grasp on your sweater which he reclaimed after turning onto his side. He stubbornly clung to you as the tips of his rounded teeth clenched together. Sans seemed unable to stop the flow of tears and appeared frustrated with them. 

The next ten minutes consisted of Sans haltingly asking you, on and off, what your demands were, why you were helping them, and why you being so nice to Papyrus, and to him. Sans had also hollowly asked why you had bothered to catch him, when he had just been threatening you not too long ago.

You didn’t know what to say to all of Sans’ questions, so you just listened to him in silence. You watched those translucent tears spill out until they finally came to an end.

Sans had fallen asleep on your lap, his hands still loosely grasping your sweater. 

Waiting for Sans to relax further, you wiped the lingering tears away, and gathered the fitfully sleeping monster into your arms.

He was surprisingly light weight.

You carried Sans into the living room, and carefully lowered him onto the couch, tugging the blanket up over his lap. You stepped around Papyrus, whose skull was buried into a pillow, the monster curled up amidst blankets on the floor next to the couch.

With a yawn, you shuffled back down the hall to collapse on your bed, leaving the door open.

An hour after you’d dozed off, unsteady footsteps entered your bedroom. You didn’t wake, nor did you feel the weight of a pair of gleaming red eye lights staring down at you, before they withdrew into the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus was awake.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: Afraid to Sleep  
> Warnings: none

It took nearly three weeks for Sans and Papyrus to feel comfortable enough in your house to take the guest bedroom for themselves.

That didn’t mean both monsters remained in the room for the whole night.

You were fairly certain that, for the past three nights, Papyrus had snuck into your room and into your bed to use you as a body pillow. Or as some form of comfort without you being awake. But you weren’t entirely sure it actually happened, because when you woke in the morning, you were all alone.

Tonight, you would stay awake.

As you lie in bed, buried beneath your blankets, you waited. Sure enough, sometime after midnight, there came the sound of unsteady footsteps, indicating that it was Papyrus entering your room. 

Sans was much quieter than his brother.

You still startled at times when you would turn around, and find Sans standing there.

The bed dipped, and in no time at all, Papyrus had plastered himself to your side, his long arms wrapped around your middle. After a moment of hesitation, the monster nuzzled into your shoulder as he relaxed bit by bit. From the fidgeting that followed, it didn’t seem like Papyrus was going to fall asleep any time soon.

With a yawn, you began to drift off, sinking into Papyrus’ embrace as the monster held you a little closer, his frame trembling now and again. He even softly rattled, until he finally let out a slow sigh and went inert.

Had Papyrus fallen asleep, or just given up on rest?

You didn’t open your eyes to check, since he seemed happy enough where he was.

The next morning, you again found yourself all alone in your bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (secret) emotional support/comfort human


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 prompt: Nightmare  
> UF Sans 1st POV  
> Warnings: none, unless you count Sans swearing.

This was fucking stupid.

There was no way in hell that resting next to a human made it easier to sleep. Not after all the shit the other ones had put us through. But I couldn’t sleep, boss was in the guest room, and there I was, standing right next to the human’s bed. I glared down at their sleeping face, frowning.

How boss could stand to actually be in the same bed as them for even 10 seconds was beyond me. What if they broke their nice facade while boss was vulnerable and not at full strength?

I ground myself teeth, or attempted to. The teeth met unevenly and I growled a curse at the constant reminder of what those bastards had done to me.

Why would this human be any different?

Other than being a stars-damned idiot, that is.

Who the hell was stupid enough to leave their bedroom door open?

For this human to leave the door open, while they knew little to nothing about me and boss...

”fuckin’ dumbass.” I growled under my breath, narrowing my sockets at the human. “could kill ya in yer sleep and ya wouldn’t even know.” A slow sigh escaped through the pitiful remains of my fangs, the anger slowly leaving me.

It was too exhausting to keep up the fury.

I was running on empty, and could barely stand upright without stumbling over my own feet.

Ever since I had woken up in this house, I could barely sleep without waking immediately, either from past memories or from the thought of what could happen if I let my guard down.

And speaking of lettin’ my guard down, boss was being far too trusting.

It wasn’t like him, but it...

I stared down at the floor.

The way boss could have enough trust to believe the human wouldn’t dust him in this house...it reminded me of when boss was a babybones, and hadn’t learned about the harsh reality of our underground home.

Did boss...did Papyrus really feel safe here, with a _human_ , after all the pain we went through for years of appearing on the surface?

I ran a hand over the cracks that remained on my skull, stopping short of checking on my teeth. I didn’t want any reminders of what those fuckers had done to them. Catching a look in the mirror was enough to make me want to break it into a million pieces, just so I didn’t have to see my reflection.

Five days.

I’d been awake for five damn days, and couldn’t even nap without waking up screaming over whatever the hell decided to invade my dreams.

But boss...

Papyrus.

He’d been more relaxed since he had started to sneak a few hours of rest with the human. 

I’d...try it, just this once, to prove that it was only Papyrus’ good nature shining through all the bullshit he’d gone though in his life that made it possible for him to lie there next to a human.

I didn’t give myself any time to overthink it and slid into the bed. I wasn’t expecting the warmth or the steady beat of the human’s heart once I was in bed and lying alongside them...

Maybe Papyrus was right.

This didn’t seem too bad, but I had meant to remain alert.

I didn’t mean to fall asleep.

But there were no nightmares, and I wasn’t sure what magic this was that this human, y/n, could keep those bad memories away, while other humans caused them or made old memories worse

I didn’t know want to do when I woke up, as my body was a damn traitor in comparison to my mind. At some point while I was asleep, I had curled my body completely around the human. My hands were digging into their shirt while my legs hooked around theirs. And my stupid skull had decided it was a fuckin’ brilliant idea to press itself into the crook of the human’s shoulder and neck.

Dunno who was more surprised.

Me, the human, or boss, who I heard let out what sounded suspiciously like a knowing laugh.

Fuckin’ stars above.

Maybe this had been a bad idea after all.

But I wasn’t dust, despite falling asleep, and I didn’t know what to think about that.

”SANS, I DO BELIEVE THE HUMAN WANTS TO GET UP.”

I let out a long groan and sagged against both the end and the human.

I wasn’t ready to be awake.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 8 prompt: Blanket Fort  
> Warnings: none

You hadn’t known that skeleton monsters could blush.

That morning, Sans had been red across most of his face, and seemed to be more flustered than angry about being caught in bed with you.

Tonight, you decided that you were going to make a blanket (and pillow) fort in the living room.

The walls had been since repaired by Papyrus, and the furniture patched up, also by Papyrus.

You were aware, as late evening came, that Sans was watching you. There’d been that prickling sensation on the back of your neck that you’d begun to associate with him. You raised your head to ask Sans if he needed anything, but he ducked into the kitchen before the words could even be spoken.

You went back to the task at hand, and dragged two chairs close to the couch. After that, you tossed the large bedsheet over all three pieces of furniture. You placed some books on the sheet at each point to keep it from falling inward, and then began the process of carrying extra pillows and blankets into the living room.

After building up the outside with pillows, and shoving some beneath the sheet with the blankets, you made yourself at home by snuggling into all the soft fabric. As you lie there, you could hear the whispers of the skeleton monsters nearby before silence fell. You closed your eyes and feigned slumber, since that worked before.

Sure enough, once it looked like you were dead to the world, you were joined first by Papyrus, who lie down close to your your back. Sans slipped beneath the sheet moments later, and settled face to face with you, keeping a little distance between the two of you.

It was really warm and comfortable, which caused you to actually doze off.

When you woke, your limbs were tangled with both of the skeleton monsters, their faces pressed against your shoulder and back of your neck, soft breaths tickling your skin.

Heat rose on your cheeks.

This was...a bit more than you had planned for.

Both Papyrus and Sans were much closer to you than they’d been before, as was evidenced by their arms over your waist at different points, and their legs firmly pinning down your own. Papyrus’ chest was against your back, and Sans was chest to chest with you. What really got you was the soft rattling that rose from both of them.

You died a little in the inside over the absolute cuteness of the idea of both monsters doing an impression of purring.

But this left you with a dilemma.

Wake them up or let them continue to sleep? Neither monster seemed to be able to find it easily, so this was a rare occurrence since you’d known them for a month.

Papyrus tightened his grasp and grumbled crossly in his sleep when you minutely shifted, and Sans let out a low growl, one hand tightening in your shirt.

Well all right then.

It looked like you were stuck there with cuddly monsters, who continued to make purr-like sounds of contentment from somewhere in their...rib cages?

You dropped straight back off to sleep, feeling surprisingly safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The skeles need (secret) cuddle sessions and in this fic, rattling bones can sound like purring, b/c reasons.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 alt prompt 1: sick character  
> Warnings: none

You should have taken better care of yourself.

Two months into living with your monster house guests, and there you were, miserable and curled up in bed, not wanting to get up for the day. Your head pounded awfully, nose stuffed as coughs wracked your body, which caused you to groan and bury yourself further into the bedsheets.

It was a change in routine, but you presumed that Sans and Papyrus would do as they would, as they had been doing the past two weeks. They’d been getting better about feeding themselves, now that they weren’t acting as if someone was going to leap out at them whenever they entered a different room.

Maybe you should text Sans.

You had noticed, as the time went by, that sometimes, there were days where Sans and Papyrus didn’t want to, or couldn’t, speak. They had made attempts to communicate with you via gestures during these times, but you didn’t understand what was being said, and they hadn’t offered to teach you the meanings, despite making it clear several times that you were willing to learn.

Hence the two flip phones you had ordered online to give to the brothers, so they could text what they needed when they couldn’t ask for it, or to let you know when they needed space.

You didn’t get the chance to reach for your phone right now, because Papyrus suddenly stalked into the room, his limp still rather pronounced. It looked like he was about to puff up and declare something, before he caught sight of you curled up in bed, looking miserable.

It was almost cute, the way the monster began to fret immediately over the way you were caring for yourself, Papyrus’ scarred visage showing a great deal of disapproval.

Papyrus disappeared from your room, only to return minutes later with his brother in tow, carrying a hilarious amount of medical supplies, food, water and extra bedding.

You managed to convince Papyrus over the next hour that you weren’t mortally ill, and would recover in a few days. 

Papyrus didn’t seem to believe you.

The tall monster hovered around the bed, making sure you stayed hydrated after consulting several books. Papyrus made the attempt to pass off his obvious concern as just making certain that you didn’t die. The monster then added, stiffly, that it wouldn’t do for you to die and leave them all alone in a house without means to get any supplies when they ran out.

You weren’t all that shocked that Papyrus ended up passed out on the bed next to you after he’d run off that huge surge of nervous adrenaline making sure you took care of yourself ‘properly.’ And after Papyrus had excused his presence on your bed, lying up against your back, as just him ensuring that you didn’t freeze in your sleep.

You weren’t cold, but not exactly warm either before Papyrus clung to you in his sleep, his arm over your waist. It was a wonder you weren’t already asleep yet with the additional warmth.

Sans seemed to notice this, because he shuffled a little closer to the bed, and looked the two of you over. “i think boss likes ya.” He sounded surprised but not overly so. The monster’s expression shifted minutely. “got room fer one more?”

You could have sworn you saw a wink of one of Sans’ sockets, but it had happened so quickly you weren’t sure if you’d imagined it.“...yes? But I thought you two didn’t like humans...?” You gasped as Sans took to your response by slipping into bed where he usually ‘secretly’ rested, chest to chest with you.

When Sans parted his teeth to speak, you impulsively reached out. You blamed the ache in your head for forgetting about not touching without permission, but you’d seen something you hadn’t expected to. Hands gently coming to a rest on either side of Sans’ jaw bone, you squinted at his teeth. “Are your teeth getting...bigger?” You were certain the flush on your face wasn’t just from a fever when you saw a red tongue slip out between those teeth as Sans parted them to check.

“‘bout fuckin’ time.” Sans breathed out in relief, that red tongue still feeling each tooth, and avoiding the only hole where no tooth was. “magic’s finally settled in on healing other things nows.” He caught you staring at him, specifically his tongue, and a wicked smile appeared. It was an expression you hadn’t seen before on Sans. “see somethin’ ya like, sweetheart?”

You groaned and buried your face against his shoulder, a silent laugh shaking the monster’s frame at your response. You really didn’t want to think while feeling so shitty and exhausted. But you felt a little better when Sans didn’t tease you further. Because that was what that seems to have been. 

Sans settled in for a nap with an exaggerated yawn, and sneakily pressed closer to you when it seemed to him that you’d dozed off.

It made you happy to see the two brothers doing much better than when you’d first come across them. It chased away a bit of your misery of being sick. But you didn’t know what to name the feeling that followed you into slumber when Sans’ arm went around your waist, just beneath Papyrus’, and he rumbled that rattling purr. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 10 alt prompt: stress ball (in which there are no actual stress balls, but I was inspired by the prompt nonetheless)  
> Warnings: none

You were concerned when you happened across Sans late one night when you’d entered the kitchen. There was a high likelihood that you wouldn’t have noticed him if it hadn’t been for that faint rattling of bones.

It appeared that Sans had tucked himself into a lower cabinet in the kitchen that was spacious, and empty.

You were tempted to knock on the door to see if any knock-knock jokes were forthcoming, but you went to get your phone instead.

Sans hadn’t said a word all day.

Papyrus had been on edge, and had only come back into the house right before you’d gone to bed, hours ago, looking like he’d fought nature and just barely won. You didn’t ask questions as he limped past you and shut himself inside the guest room, a faraway look in his eye lights.

When you returned to the kitchen with your phone, you texted Sans. A buzz informed you that the monster had his phone with him, and you gave Sans time to answer it if he’d like. In the meantime, you went to get that cup of water you’d gotten up for. Your phone buzzed a few minutes later, even as the rattling in the cabinet continued on.

Sans: _need_ _some more time to get my skull on straight._

You texted back to see if Sans needed you to leave or if he wanted you to stay. His response was quick.

Sans: _stay._

So you did, sitting down on a kitchen chair, and staring off into the distance as your sleepy mind woke up a little more. After a half hour crawled by, your phone buzzed with a new message.

Sans: _come_ _over here?_

You frowned a little at the phone but got up and knelt down next to the cabinet. This time, you knocked on the door, twice. 

Sans: _who’s_ _there?_

”who?” You said aloud.

Sans: _who who?_

“A night owl, are you?”

Terrible.

Absoutely terrible.

But it got a weak trickle of laughter from behind the door, and it opened a crack, revealing two crimson lights.

”Hi there.” You said quietly. “Need anything?”

Sans’ eye lights looked down, and then a skeletal hand reached out from the darkness of the cabinet.

”I don’t think there’s enough room in there for both of us.” You saw the hand remain in place, Sans watching you wordlessly, and thought, what the hell, why not? You were already awake and not likely to fall asleep right away. Taking Sans’ hand, you squeezed into the cabinet alongside the monster, letting out a laugh when Sans mostly closed the cabinet door. “So...does this mean we’re having a clandestine meeting in the dead of night?”

A snort of amusement came from  
the monster as Sans curled into your side, his hand still holding your own. 

Nothing was said after that.

You didn’t even realize you’d dozed off until you were woken by Sans shaking in silent laughter over Papyrus loudly demanding to know where the both of you were.

Suffce to say, Papyrus hadn’t been pleased to discover that you and Sans had slept in the kitchen with the dishes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 11 alt prompt: Board Game  
> Warnings: none

Sitting in the living room reading, you are distracted by Papyrus setting a chessboard down on the coffee table in front of you, and putting the pieces in their place. His skull raised up to meet your eyes with steady red lights that flickered briefly in his sockets.

Without a word, you set aside your book and scooted to the edge of your seat, and picked up a pawn.

Papyrus moved a chair in front of the coffee table opposite of you, and sat down before he moved a pawn of his own.

No conversation rose between the two of you as the game of chess was played. Only pauses to think about the next move.

”Checkmate.” Papyrus announced some time later.

“Good game. Haven’t gotten to play chess with anyone in a long time.” You said, and glanced up from the board to find Papyrus staring at you. “Want to play again?”

”On one condition.” Papyrus said as he set the black and white pieces back to their proper places on the board. 

“What’s that?”

”Whoever loses this round will cook dinner for the other.” Papyrus said, without looking at you. There was the faintest tinge of red across his nasal ridge, but he was very determinedly awaiting your response, so he didn’t turn his head away to hide the sight.

”Sounds fine to me.” You told the monster. It didn’t matter to you who cooked dinner. Or cooked anything in the house, actually, since all of you shared meals anyway. But if this was something that Papyrus wanted from you, there was nothing wrong with a little harmless wager about who cooked dinner that day.

Another silence descended once Papyrus gave a sharp nod and you made your first move.

Papyrus lost the game.

He didn’t seem too put out by this as he got to his feet, and turned to stare down at you.

”Have you any aprons?”

Papyrus had never asked about one before, when he’d already made meals these past few weeks.

You got up to show him where you kept some aprons. You hid a smile over the grimace that Papyrus made at the puns on each of them, before he sighed and chose the ‘put the pan in pancake’ apron. You did let out a laugh when Papyrus shooed you out of the kitchen so that he could concentrate on creating a ‘culinary delight’ no one could resist. 

You could have sworn, as you left the kitchen, that you heard a quiet string of ‘nyeh heh heh’s’ as Papyrus gathered up what he needed to cook with.

“boss kick ya outta the kitchen?” Sans was right next to you, causing an involuntary jump of surprise.

”He said whoever lost the round of chess would cook dinner for the other.” You said, once you’d recovered from Sans’ sudden appearance, and went to sit back down on the couch.

”he lost?” Sans sounded dubious.

”Won the first time and then he made the offer. I said yes.” You replied, watching the way Sans began to grin, showing off his slowly healing fangs.

“stars. he must really like ya.” Sans said, eye lights studying you. “be careful, he might wanna try to date ya next, if he can get his skull around ya bein’ human.”

”SANS!” Papyrus snapped out imperiously from the kitchen, slamming something down onto the counter that clattered. “KEEP YOUR OPINIONS TO YOURSELF, AS MOST OF YOUR DRIVEL AS OF LATE IS A PROJECTION OF YOUR WANTS.” A pause. “YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN DINNER THIS EVENING, AS YOU WERE NOT PART OF THE DEAL. ONLY Y/N MAY HAVE DINNER MADE BY MY CULINARY SKILLS TONIGHT.” 

”holy shit, he really _does_ like you.” Sans said in a gleeful, disbelieving whisper. With a mischievous grin, Sans dropped down onto the couch next to you. ”...do ya wanna watch a movie, just the two of us, tomorrow night?” Sans quietly asked, avoiding eye contact with you, much like his brother had earlier. 

“Sure.” You said, not seeing a problem with this. You’d already caught Sans and his brother making use of your TV, so you were totally down for watching some movies, either by yourself, or with one or both of the brothers.

Sans looked pleased with your response, and settled comfortably on the couch as he closed his sockets, presumably for a quick nap.

You picked your book back up to read while you waited. As time ticked by, you were unaware of both brothers quietly watching you in their own way.

Sans, by opening a socket to look at you occasionally, his eye lights a little less intense, almost softer, and Papyrus, by looming in the doorway to the kitchen throughout the time it took to cook dinner, the red glow of his eyes zeroed in on you.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 12 prompt: Flashbacks  
> (UF Sans 1st POV)  
> Warnings (for italic part of chapter): triggers, dissociation, past abuse and torture flashback that also involves restraints and needles.  
> After flashback: drawing blood unintentionally due to flashback and not knowing where one is.

I was a damn idiot.

Again.

The night was going well, y/n seemed to be relaxing as I leaned into their side as we watched the TV and...

And I fuckin' ruined the mood. 

Why the fuck did I think that a horror movie that involved torture of the protagonists was a good idea?

I learned something tonight, at least.

Anything to do with torture meant that I was highly likely to go to a bad place in my mind.

I reached up to claw at the sides of my skull, against the healed cracks. I was pulled down, further and further away until I could no longer distinguish between memory and reality.

 _Metal and leather holds me down. The restraints are magic-suppressants that help limit movement further._ _Needles in my soul, that cause me to become weaker and weaker._

_Pliant._

_Unable to protest._

_Defenseless, for the first time in a long while._

_There is pain._

_It burns a deep searing agony as my soul is subject to sharp aches that never seem to end._ _Bone scrapes against metal and leather, unable to break free._

_Soon, I am unable to resist._

_Papyrus is gone._

_Separated as I am 'dealt' with._

_Nothing is there but the pain in my mind, the grinding screech against my fangs that made my whole skull rattle, and the tips of my phalanges as my claws receive the same treatment._

_It hurt._

_These bastards deserve the pain I gave them earlier but now...now_ _I could only hope they didn’t give Papyrus the same treatment._

_It hurt, but not as much as being captured did, failing Papyrus when he couldn’t defend himself, much less me._

_It hurt, but I_ _will endure this._

_These humans will not get away with what they’ve done, now and in the future._

_A sharp prick to my soul sent me into a place where my thoughts scatter, unable to take hold._

_It hurts._

_it hurts it hurts ithurtithurtithurt-_

"Sans!"

I sucked in a harsh breath, sockets snapping open as I seized whoever was leaning over me, and without thought, rolled them over with me onto the floor.

The...floor?

Reality soon caught up as the memories began to dissipate.

The TV on, with the movie paused.

There is a distinct rise in intent from nearby, a warning from boss to get my shit together before he was forced to intervene.

"fuck." I bit out with a sharp exhale as my gaze focused on who I was pinning down, phalanges digging into a limb. I felt the wet stickiness of blood, despite my lack of claws.

What happened clicked instantly. 

I had made y/n bleed while lost in my mind.

Fuck.

I let go of their arm like I'd been burned as I rolled off y/n hastily as I uttered several curses.

Fuck.

Fuckin' stars I..

I had...

Fuck, boss was gonna kill me if his intent rose any further from where it was right now.

"Sans? Are you all right?"

I laughed hollowly as I pressed my face against the carpet, clawless fingers curling up. 

Was I all right? 

Was _I_ all right?

After I'd just dug my fingers into y/n's arm hard enough to draw blood? 

Some night this was turning out to be. 

It wasn't going anything like how I wanted it to. 

I reluctantly got up and quietly pressed healing magic to y/n's arm, hating myself for the marks that had been left, as if y/n had been my enemy. 

They weren't.

Y/n wasn't my enemy.

I wasn't sure what they were to me, but I know I wanted...more, the longer I stayed in this house. I silently cursed Papyrus for inferring yesterday that I wanted to ask y/n on a date, because he was right, in a way. But I didn't want to scare y/n off by making it seem abrupt. Let alone trying to figure out how convey that both my brother and I wanted to date them. 

Did humans have multiple date mates?

I didn't want to date Papyrus, but I certainly didn't mind sharing a date mate with him.

...What the fuck was I even thinking of this for? After I'd unwittingly injured y/n while thinking I was back in _that place_?

I froze when y/n carefully drew me into a hug.

Oh.

I guess I had finished healing them.

"I'm okay." Y/n held me closer, running a hand along my shoulder soothingly as I selfishly pressed closer, while at the same time pretending I didn't need to hear that.

"m'fine too." I eventually managed to say.

"I'm sorry. I forgot the movie had some of... _those_ kinds of scenes." Y/n paused. "Is this all right?"

"s'all right." I agreed, as I nuzzled y/n's shoulder as a slow sigh came out. “i didn't mean ta make ya bleed."

"Bad memories suck. I shouldn’t have gotten so close to you until I knew it was all okay.”

I was quiet, even as I allowed y/n to coax me back onto the couch. I felt that I may have short-circuited when I felt a brush of lips against the side of my skull, while y/n and I rested on the couch, curled up against one another. 

"I won't go anywhere, if you want me to stay." 

Damn Papyrus for being quite confident yesterday morning that y/n would be open to...advances from the two of us.

I tested the theory by turning and nuzzling my nasal ridge against their closest cheek, drawing forth a soft, surprised laugh from y/n. My soul warmed at the tighter hug I received, and I didn't have to look up to know Papyrus was still there, looming in the hallway, and likely wearing a smug 'told you so' expression. 

I _might_ have showered y/n in more ‘skeleton’ kisses, as y/n decided to call them, just to let my brother know my intentions.

Bastard didn't bat a socket, reconfirming my thoughts that Papyrus was open to sharing.

If y/n was down for two date mates, that is.

I wasn't sure how quickly humans moved in relationships. But for Papyrus and me, in the 'verse we came from, one had to act quickly to claim something one wanted, before it was gone. Both of us had had time to think the longer we were here in this house, and knew what we wanted. 

All that was left was to see if y/n wanted to take things further, or keep things as they were at present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking that the relationship tag and the multi tag are enough, but do I need to tag it as a poly because Sans and Papyrus are both eventually going to date the reader, but not each other? How does one tag that, if it needs to be tagged?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 13 alt prompt: music  
> Warnings: none

You were woken by heavy footsteps walking up and down the hallway. With a yawn, you sat up and slid off the bed, shuffling to the open doorway to peek out around the frame.

Papyrus paced from the living room, down the hall past your bedroom, and then back again, pausing on occasion to stretch out his left leg.

You stayed put to allow Papyrus time to notice you.

Sans was still showering you in non-verbal apologizes for the way he’d dug his fingers into your arm nights ago while watching a movie, when he’d lost himself to some troubled memory. You didn’t blame him for his reaction, but Sans seemed to think he didn’t deserve forgiveness. At least not right away.

You didn’t want to add Papyrus to the mix, so you waited, patiently watching the way the monster walked back and forth, over and over, until he finally noticed you.

Papyrus halted, his eye lights darting away before he straightened his shoulders and turned to face you.

It was cute, in an intimidating kind of way, when paired with his whispered words.

”I did not intend to wake you.”

It sounded like he thought waking you was a capital offense.

It really...wasn’t.

”It’s fine.” You watched Papyrus cross his arms. “Can’t sleep?”

“I am not tired.” Papyrus huffed. The monster noticed his arms were crossed, and he painstakingly uncrossed them, only for his hands to clasp into fists at his side.

You politely didn’t point out to Papyrus that his whole posture was drooping, the heavy shadows beneath his sockets indicating that he _was_ exhausted. How long had it been since he last slept? An idea came to mind, and you approached Papyrus, silently offering him your hand.

The monster stared down at you for a moment, before he averted his gaze with a faint dusting of red across his nasal ridge. Papyrus brushed his hand against yours and clasped it gently.

You led the tall monster into the living room, and managed to convince him to sit on the couch. 

Papyrus seemed to seriously consider something before you were suddenly tugged onto the couch next to him. The monster carefully draped his arm over your shoulders, and held you close to his side. 

You were getting the feeling, with every passing day, that the brothers were interested in you as more than a (possible) friend helping them while they recovered. You wanted to give them more time to heal. But from the way Papyrus and Sans had been acting around you lately...

”Are we to sit here in silence?” Papyrus asked, his voice irritable despite the way he held you closer. 

Oh, right!

You put aside wondering about your house guests intentions toward you, and picked up a control to turn on the stereo/radio system. You switched the radio to a classical music channel. You figured you picked right, because Papyrus began to relax bit by bit the longer he listened.

As you’d hoped, the soothing music allowed Papyrus to eventually drift off. The monster remained close by your side, his skull leaning over to rest on top of your head.

Maybe you should talk to Papyrus and his brother about their feelings toward you. Because they sometimes countered their own actions with aloofness, and you didn’t want to misinterpret or assume anything without more input from them.

You certainly believed you felt something right now, from the sleepy way Papyrus was draped against you, his bigger hand loosely clasped around one of your own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler: they won’t admit how they feel in words. What feelings are these you speak of?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 14 prompt: Park  
> Warnings: brief scare made worse b/c of past trauma

It was late fall, but you knew that the leaves wouldn’t have completely fallen in the abandoned amusement park a half hour’s walk from your home. You wanted to see the blazing red and oranges mixed with yellow-gold before it was gone.

Since bringing Papyrus and Sans to your home, you hadn’t left the house apart from brief walks to go get packages left at the end of your driveway. You hoped to soon have deliveries made to your doorstep, if you knew that the monsters living with you wouldn’t think they were under attack.

You’d take a five minute walk to the end of your driveway over Sans overexerting himself with his magic or Papyrus almost breaking his leg again to react to a presumed threat.

But right now...you were surprised that both monsters were willingly accompanying outside the house on your way to the park.

Papyrus, because he wanted to establish ‘patrol’ routes.

Sans, because he seemed to still be under the impression that he needed to make things up to you, otherwise he would have ‘taken a nap.’

You doubted Sans' excuse, seeing as Papyrus and Sans were never far away from one another. No doubt they were still traumatized from whatever had happened to them in the past that had caused their injuries. But you welcomed the company, whatever their reasons, and hoped that the monsters would love the sight of the colors of the leaves.

After a tense walk-around of the abandoned amusement park, Papyrus seemed mollified that there were no lurking threats. 

Nothing was said of nature overtaking old rides and breaking through sidewalks.

You spent a wonderful span of time seated on a creaking swing, as Papyrus stood nearby, at attention, to guard you from potential threats. But there was no hiding the wonder in his crimson eye lights as they occasionally swept over the colorful leaves all around him. Sans lazed about close by beneath one of the trees, looking happier than you'd seen him, his eye lights bigger and almost hazy at their edges.

It was peaceful. 

Serene.

Until it wasn't.

Without warning, Papyrus scooped you up off of the swing, and deposited you next to Sans, his magic sparking to life in a way that you could feel it in the air.

Sans gave you no time to see what was wrong, as he was already moving.

You ended up on your backside, against the tree trunk, Sans shielding you with his body, even if faint tremors ran through him. You didn't touch him, in case Sans was remembering something, and instead looked over his shoulder, his sweater against your chin.

Papyrus had moved to stand in front of both you and Sans, his posture rigid. One hand clenched around a sharp-looking, small red bone like it was a dagger.

Tense silence passed that came to a head as a stick snapped nearby.

Papyrus' magic flared.

Sans held you tighter.

A doe wandered into sight, pausing midstep in grazing through the undergrowth. Ears twitched and swiveled toward all of you, before freezing, and then bolting back into the surrounding trees.

Sans exhaled a shaky laugh, tension sliding off him in palpable releif.

Papyrus sat down hard on the ground, red bone vanishing from his hand as he allowed himself to flop onto his back, rib cage rapidly rising and falling.

You patted Sans' back cautiously, and he slowly drew away, casting a worried look his brother's way. You stood up, and, leading Sans, who had also gotten up, coaxed him into sitting down to keep watch as you lie alongside a softly rattling Papyrus.

Ten minutes later, and you were staring up at the blaze of fall colors overhead, the leaves gently swaying in the light breeze.

Each of your hands was held by one of the brother's.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 15 prompt: PTSD  
> Warnings: self-harm in midst of dissociation, blood, past abuse hints (here be an angst and feels ch)

A muffled cry of pain caused you drop the package you'd just been carrying into the house.

Papyrus had only just begun to patrol the surrounding area today, weeks after you and his brother visited the abandoned amusement park. It was also the first day Papyrus had spent time outside, away from his brother, even if Papyrus would be back within a half hour.

But this meant you were hearing Sans screaming out in such a tortured way.

You quickly found him, seated on the bathroom floor.

Sans clawed at his bare arms, blunt phalange tips digging bloody lines into bone, red marrow leaking out sluggishly.

Heedful of the way Sans' eye lights were tiny pinpricks, you called out to him softly.

"Sans?"

Instead of attacking, Sans collapsed completely to the floor and curled up. A choked sob was cut off as Sans dug harder into his bones, mumbling nonsensically as translucent tears began to roll down from his sockets.

Cautiously, you edged into the bathroom, again calling out to the monster as soothingly as possible.

"Sans...it's me, y/n?"

What followed tugged hard at your heartstrings, tears welling up in your own eyes.

Sans mechanically stopped what he was doing, and trembled, his bones clattering loudly. All at once, the sound stopped, and Sans' shoulders slumped, as if defeated and resigned to something that was inevitable. Sans hesitantly crawled over to you, keeping himself low to the ground, as if you might strike out at him if he so much as looked at you. The monster shakily reached out to grasp the barest amount of your pants. Like Papyrus had done the first night they were in your house, Sans bared his throat to you, revealing minute scores in the bone.

"don't...hurt him..." Sans visibly flinched when you shifted on your feet.

Youn were quick to hold still.

"I...i'll do it. the tests. just...just leave him 'lone..."

What the fuck?

You didn't even want to begin to imagine what _that_ was about. 

"I'm not going to hurt you or your brother." You softly but firmly assured Sans. "you're safe here, remember?"

It was like the first night all over again, and Sans' pain tore at you worse than it had the first time.

Tears fell from both of you now.

Without warning, Sans dug his fingertips into his own throat, the worrying sound of vertebrae cracking ringing out. 

"won't let ya use me...to hurt my bro..." Sans wheezed. "...rather be fuckin' dust."

You took a chance and grasped either of Sans' wrists, in a vain attempt to pry his fingers from his vertebrae. You heard a door slam open and shut. Panicked, you raised your voice, worry and fear rising. "Papyrus! Help!"

The monster appeared in the bathroom doorway, magic sparking and at the ready, until he saw what was happening. 

You didn't even realize you continued to hold Sans' wrists as Papyrus rattled off several loud, seemingly meaningless strings of words, but it seemed to have a profound effect on his brother. 

Sans let out a shuddering breath and went still, the translucent tears the only way you knew that he might still be awake.

Papyrus quietly limped close to kneel down and heal the damage Sans had done to himself. "Bandages?" He eventually asked, in a rough voice.

You went to the bathroom cabinet and handed the roll to Papyrus. You watched as the bigger monster carefully bandaged both of San's ulna and radius, presuming that Papyrus didn't have enough magic to finish the healing.

With a slow, weary sigh, Papyrus cast a quick glance your way before stiffly giving his brother a hug, again saying those meaningless words. 

Sans did nothing, his blackened sockets showing no red glow.

Papyrus didn't seem happy with this but didn't press his brother to stand on his own, and silently picked Sans up. With another quick, searching look your direction, Papyrus carried Sans down the hall and into your bedroom, where he stood, waiting.

You felt you were getting better at reading the monsters, becuase you didn't question what Papyrus wanted. You hopped up on your bed and settled against the headboard. 

Without preamble, Papyrus plopped Sans right down onto your lap, and settled his brother's head against your shoulder. He then covered both of you with a blanket, and tucked a pillow behind your head. Turning on his heel, Papyrus brought a chair in from the kitchen, and sat on it, facing the now closed bedroom door.

Keeping watch.

You held Sans close, felt him trembling, and thought nothing of brushing your lips against the top of his skull. 

Some time passed, and slowly, Sans' trembles came to an end as he let out a slow breath.

You hadn't expected Sans to brush his partially-there fangs breifly against your lips. You certainly hadn't expected what felt like a tongue teasing the crease of your lips for the briefest of moments.

"Later." You murmured distractedly, drawing back, and moving Sans' skull back to your shoulder. "I don't want you to make any rash decisions or feel you 'owe' me for something, when you're clearly not doing well today." You smiled a little at the faint huff that came from Sans as his skull sagged against your shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, you know. We live in the same hosue."

That second disappointed huff was a much better sound than the cries of pain earlier.

As the tension in the room dissipated, you realized with a jolt what you'd just said to Sans, which caused a flush to rise on your cheeks. Sans had just kissed you, and apparently had a tongue that had been very interested in getting familar with the inside of your mouth. And you'd told him 'later, which insinuated an openness to kisses in the future. Which was fine...but you wanted to make sure that-

"not takin' advantage." Sans hummed contentedly, as if picking up on your internal debate as he snuggled closer on your lap.

"Just being careful." You murmured in return.

Your blush grew more pronounced as Sans clasped one of your hands. The flush deepened even further when you caught Papyrus staring at you with burning intensity, before the monster looked away with a flush of his own dusting red across his sharp cheekbones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Papyrus was speaking to Sans in wingdings


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 16 prompt: Anxiety  
> Warnings: none

A rumble of thunder that seemed to shake the entire house woke you up. Hearing music playing very close by was what kept you from going straight back to sleep.

It wasn’t classical music, exactly.

To your half-awake mind, it reminded you of the music that played in some horror movies and games that would be at odds with what was happening on the screen.

You left that thought at that.

It wouldn’t do to creep yourself out during a thunderstorm, when there was a chance for the power to be knocked out.

Sleepily lifting your head, you found a dark shadow seated on your bed. There was a brief panic where you believed your house was haunted, until two crimson lights looked down at you.

A flash of lightning lit your room for a split second, allowing you to see the way Papyrus sat ramrod straight at the edge of your bed. Another rumble and a second flash revealed that he held an old radio, the monster cranking the sound louder and louder in an futile attempt to drown out the storm.

”Papyrus?”

The dual crimson glow focused on you before looking away. 

You heard the radio drop down somewhere, likely the night side table. Not a moment later, you found yourself wrapped in Papyrus arms as the monster squeezed you against his bony chest at another sharp crack of thunder. “Don’t like storms?” You mumbled drowsily as you freed an arm to run a hand gently along a shoulder.

”The great and terrible Papyrus fears no storm.” The monster scoffed, even if the faint clatter of bones could be heard at another flash and resulting boom.

”It is a pretty loud storm.” You yawned. “Can be startling to wake up in the middle of the night to.”

Papyrus flinched against you at another loud peal of thunder. ”I am at ease.” The monster insisted stiffly, as he rested his skull on a pillow. 

Both of you lie in silence as the storm raged outside.

One last big thunderstorm for the year.

Your fingers slipped from Papyrus’ shoulder to one of his bare vertebrae, just above the collar of his shirt. You drew your hand away, and coaxed Papyrus to relax his arms around you so that you could look at him.

Curious crimson lights stared back at you.

Papyrus’ fangs were still taking time to grow back, but they were no longer the shattered remains they had once been.

Maybe your mind knew what you wanted in that moment, because before you realized it, your hands were lightly running along his cheekbones.

Papyrus let out a sharp breath, but didn’t move away.

A faint rattle rose and fell into silence.

Glowing eyes became a little hazy, though still focused on you.

You leaned in and carefully brushed your lips to Papyrus’ teeth, before drawing away. You didn’t know if Sans would get jealous of you kissing his brother, when you’d kissed him over a week ago, but in this particular moment, it seemed right to kiss Papyrus.

The monster’s nasal ridge darkened with red, Papyrus’ eye lights flickering rapidly in his sockets as he studied you. Then, Papyrus leaned in to give a gentle tap of his teeth to your lips in return, before settling back down on the bed. Papyrus immediately wrapped his arms around you once more as he arranged it so that he could press his face into the crook of your neck and shoulder, snuggling in close. 

You heard that faint rattle-like purr rev up in the vicinity of Papyrus’ rib cage, right after a quiet ‘nyeh’ left him.

Papyrus nuzzled your neck briefly as the rattling grew in volume.

The storm went forgotten for a time as the radio continued to play in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The note I left myself for this prompt was that Papyrus gets a kiss and goes nyeh.  
> (I’m a little behind w/prompts b/c I’m once again overthinking it). 
> 
> (Was thinking of songs like ‘tiptoe through the tulips’ by Tiny Tim that they played in Insidious. Or really any music that horror movies/games play on old vinyl record players).


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 17 prompt: Hugs  
> Warnings: none

It was nearing five months that you’d been sharing your home with Sans and Papyrus, and there was a chill in the air, the days becoming cooler as winter edged closer.

With the first snowfall only days away, you’d convinced the brothers over a week back to let you buy them some warmer clothes, even if they insisted that it didn’t matter one way or another, being skeleton monsters.

Sans looked awful comfortable in a bright red sweater and a black hoodie with a very fluffy hood. He’d insisted the old black track pants were fine. New sneakers lay untied and forgotten by the door, as Sans lounged comfortably against you on the couch.

Papyrus had just returned from his evening patrol, leaving behind heeled black and red boots nearly arranged on a boot tray before limping off to the guest room to change clothing.

You leaned minutely against Sans in return, before finally giving voice to what you’d been wondering about for the past two weeks. “I kissed your brother.”

Well...that wasn’t exactly how you wanted to phrase things but your mind must have just decided to provide it as a way to gauge how Sans felt about that.

”and?” Sans asked with a snort, tilting his skull to meet your eyes with a toothy grin. His fangs looked to be nearly their original size, with exception to a single missing fang. “he say somethin’ stupid?”

”No?”

”then what’s the problem?” 

“I kissed you too?” 

“then ya wanted to give me some space.” Sans sighed, “‘an just when it was gettin’ good too.”

“You were injured at the time, after going through a panic attack. I didn’t want to-“

“yer bein’ too nice.” Sans cut in, reluctantly scooting away to the side. “i did say that ya weren’t takin’ advantage of me then.”

”I kissed _both_ of you.”

There.

More to the point of what you were worried about. Whether or not there were any feelings of jealously.

”not a problem for some monsters, sweetheart.” Sans said, rolling his skull to the side to look over the edge of the couch. “ain’t that right, boss?”

You turned your head to find Papyrus standing there, dressed in black jeans and a dark crimson turtleneck. The tall monster didn’t say anything but he did come around to sit on the couch next to you, and pressed into your side, boxing you in between him and his brother.

”Where we come from, monsters were more likely to be polyamorous. At least, that was how it used to be.” Papyrus said after a moment of silence, staring out the living room window. “Neither my brother or I mind if you have taken an interest in...both of us.” 

Well then.

You didn’t think it could be made any clearer than that. It had been a long time since you’d attempted to be in a relationship with anyone, but...with Sans and Papyrus, you didn’t feel overwhelmed in their presence, and they, like you, were good with giving space when space was needed. Communication between the three of you had gone well overall...

So maybe...just maybe...

...it was all right to let some of those feelings you’d been holding back come forward bit by bit, while still being respectful of their recovery?

”think ya sent their mind whirlin’.” Sans chuckled as he sneakily went back to nuzzling the side of your neck.

”I think the way you show your intentions will send anyone reeling. Every passing day I brace myself for when I will have to deal with your awful puns and pranks.” Papyrus lightly pressed his nearly-healed fangs to the side of your head. 

The more chaste kisses Papyrus laid against the side of your head were in sharp contrast to Sans leisurely exploring your neck with hints of that tongue and gentle nips of those now bigger fangs.

You felt...happy, that these two appeared to be showing more of their real personalities and less of the frightened monsters who thought you may cause harm to them. You’d take things slowly with the brothers, to see if this was what all of you wanted from one another.

Take it step by step.

Day by day.

There was plenty of time to get to know one another better.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 18 prompt: Baking  
> [UF Papyrus 1st POV]  
> Warnings: none

I could not put into words what I was feeling this very moment.

I...was not accustomed to emotions other than anger, irritation and recently, a fear I didn’t think possible, before coming to live with y/n. But I had begun to feel something like fondness, for the human who had taken my brother and I into their home.

Which was probably why I was so immersed in my battered dating manual as I waited for the sauce in the pan to simmer.

I had not been aware that I had access to my inventory in this universe that wasn’t my own.

This also meant I had a spare collar for my brother, but in light of what had happened to the both of us, I didn’t think it right to offer my protection when I’d failed the both of us.

But the dating manual?

That was another story.

I flipped idly through the pages, taking in information that was familiar, though it seemed like such a long time ago. Back when I felt that it was possible to find a partner in the underground before I learned how harsh the world was. As soon as I was in the royal guard, I didn’t go back to the dating manual once.

Until now.

As soon as I’d gleaned as much information as I could that was relevant, I put the finishing touches on the sauce I was cooking, having already pulled out the baked food from the oven.

Ten minutes later, and I was satisfied with the presentation of dinner on the plates.

While my brother preferred more direct methods to show his intentions, and affections, toward y/n, I preferred a more subtle approach, when it came to securing a date mate. This sharply contrasted how I would ordinarily act in the royal guard, but only Sans knew that.

Not y/n.

Cooking was the easiest way for me to express myself, without having to say anything, or use words I may not be able to give voice to at present. How I had begun to patrol the surrounding area of the house, to make sure it was safe, was another way to show my intentions.

How I could eh a protector once more.

This was done not only for my benefit and my brother’s. but for y/n as well, now that our relation with the human was beginning to shift.

I may have ordered a gift along with material for a scarf that y/n insisted I get, if it was something that would make me feel more...put together.

Content.

”smells good, boss.” Sans shuffled into the kitchen.

“GET YOUR OWN PLATE. OVER THERE.” I swatted the spatula across the back of the hand wandering toward the already plated food. “THAT ONE IS FOR Y/N.”

”just ask ‘em on a date.” Sans grumbled, reaching for one of the other plates. “ya ain’t gonna get anywhere just bein’ all gentlemanly.”

“SANS...” I let out a sigh while my teeth briefly clenched together. “JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO GET OFF YOUR COCCYX TO COOK DOESN’T MEAN A PREPARED MEAL DOESN’T MEAN JUST AS MUCH AS YOUR...ATROCIOUS PUNS AND HORRID FLIRTING TECHNIQUES.”

”ya could always get-“

I tossed a bun from the basket on the counter at my brother to distract him from whatever horrible piece of advice he was going to try to bestow upon me.

“heh.” Sans caught the bun and had the gall to wink a socket at me as he picked up his plate. “have a good date, boss.”

I spluttered at that, but eating dinner with y/n in the kitchen a few minutes at the table did seem like a date, especially with Sans keeping scarce.

But it wasn’t a date.

It wasn’t.

Not even if there was a kiss to my cheekbone in thanks for the meal, once y/n and I were finished eating. Nor did briefly holding hands on the way to the living room mean anything date-like was happening.

No.

This had not been a proper date at all. That would take more planning than a simple meal and the usual night in that seemed quite normal to me now.

I began to muse over possible ideas, absently shifting to one side on the couch to allow y/n to sit next to me. Deeper into my thoughts, I barely noticed draping an arm over y/n’s shoulders. 

What _would_ a good date be?

This merited further research into my dating manual.

I gave Sans the middle finger when I noticed him standing in the hallway, giving me that irritatingly smug look over the way y/n was leaning into my side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg papyrus shh it’s okay, it can be a date, you don’t need things to be grandiose.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 19 prompt: Movie Night  
> Warnings: some anxious feelings  
> Basically movie night 2.0 with UF Sans that goes better than the first one.

A cheesy, over the top romantic comedy was one of the better movie ideas you and Sans had had.

The movie might have been funnier because Sans was slipping in a serious but not serious critique of the main couple, along with a pun here and there.

The ridiculous commentary about a horribly cliché movie was tickling your funny bone just right tonight. And as the movie went on, you found yourself closer and closer to Sans on the couch before he had an arm over your shoulders to bring you in close to his side.

Both Sans and his brother really liked to tuck you against their sides.

The nuzzling was something that you’d begun to appreciate, as Sans was much more forward with his intentions and seemed to want nothing more then to give those nuzzles and receive kisses and affections in return. Cracking terrible puns and jokes was a new addition and you thought they were hilarious, particularly with how Sans delivered them.

Papyrus, on the other hand, was a perfect gentlemen, taking tentative actions with you, such as brief hand holding, pressing his teeth to your cheek or back of your hand, and taking you on what seemed to be dates, despite denying that they were dates because they weren’t proper. It really felt like Papyrus wasn’t entirely certain what you would and wouldn’t allow in terms of affectionate gestures, or what you’d like from him. This was something that you were going to ask him about the next time Papyrus set up a ‘not-date’ with you.

”y/n?”

Or maybe Papyrus just had trouble expressing himself?

Sans had pointed out that anger and aggressive actions had served both of them well from where they lived in the past. But it made you wonder...why did Sans have an easier time with some feeling than Papyrus, if they lived and came from the same place?

”wanderin’ mind?” Skeletal fingers lightly ran over the back of your right hand.

“Just thinking about how you and Papyrus like to hold me close.” You smiled over the flustered way Sans jerked his hand away from you to flip his fluffy hood over his skull.

”like ta know yer here. don’t always...think ‘bout doin’ it. just feels right.” Sans mumbled, tugging at his sweater collar. “some days...it doesn’t seem like all this is...real. that i’ll wake up and find that it was just a dream. that it’ll all have just...reset.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, pausing the move as you after turned the monster’s words over in your mind. “Did something happen back in your home before I found you and Papyrus?”

Sans said nothing, looking down at the floor.

Answer received.

He wasn’t ready to talk about it, if ever.

You tentatively opened your arms in silent offer. It took a moment, but you knew when Sans noticed what you were doing as, quick as a flash, Sans wrapped you in a hug, face pressed against your shoulder.

The monster took in a breath and let it out slowly as he relaxed against you bit by bit.

You hugged Sans back, squeezing the fabric tight as he snuggled in, practically climbing onto your lap to be even closer. 

...Sans was very good at evading questions. 

But it wasn’t like you were entitled to know about Sans’ past if he wasn’t ready, or willing, to talk about it. You didn’t bring any more attention to what he had vaguely spoken of that night. Both you and Sans ended up dozing off on the couch, neither of you aware of Papyrus entering the room some time later to dump a blanket over the pair of you. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 20 prompt: Homesickness (in which the prompt again has nothing to do with what was actually written)  
> Warnings/tags: minor injury, silent worrying

Of course you would twist an ankle when you were all alone, a half hour from home, on a cold afternoon.

You were currently seated on a snow-covered step of one of the abandoned rides in the abandoned amusement park, after hobbling through the snow on the ground to get off your foot.

To add insult to injury, you stupidly didn’t bring your phone. At the very least, you had dressed appropriately, so you weren’t liable to freeze any time soon.

You felt terrible that you had only told Sans of your walk, since Papyrus had gone out on his patrol before you had the chance to ask him if you could join him.

Before you could consider the implications of shambling back home and making your injury worse, Papyrus suddenly came storming into view, his magic sparking around him wildly until the monster saw that you were unharmed.

“YOU DIDNT THINK TO INFORM ME OF YOUR JAUNT THROUGH THE ELEMENTS WITH A TEXT, INSTEAD TELLING MY BROTHER, WHO IS A SERIAL NAPPER?” Papyrus bit out as he came to a halt right in front of you. He turned and shot out a brief burst of magic that didn’t quite reach past the tree line.

Sans emerged from the trees, his tense posture relaxing when he spotted you. An easy grin replaced his frown. “don’t think this a great place to take a rest.”

You cheeks redden in embarrassment behind your scarf over not only hurting yourself but forgetting to bring a way to communicate that you’d be late in getting back.

Sans was suddenly behind you, his hands gently running along the back of your head and then down to your shoulders after tracing down your neck.

You realized he was looking for injuries.

Papyrus knelt down on his good leg as he similarly checked your front.

The touches were gentle from both brothers, as if they expected the worst.

”I just twisted my ankle.” You indicated your left foot. “Not that big a deal. It’ll recover just fine. I’ll ice and elevate it.” Maybe give a call to the doctor to see if you remembered right.

Papyrus let out a derisive snort at that and slipped off your boot to place a hand over the ankle you’d indicated was troubling you. Magic flowed out from Papyrus’ hand and you let out a soft gasp of surprise when the pain began to dissipate.

“That’s amazing.” You breathed out, missing the tinge of red on those sharp cheekbones.

“OF COURSE IT IS AMAZING.” Papyrus said proudly, placing his free hand on his chest. “I AM A MONSTER OF MANY TALENTS.”

“and bein’ cool is one of em.” Sans said, leaning in over your shoulder to whisper. “and modesty ain’t one of em.”

You snorted a laugh at that as Papyrus removed his hand from your ankle, pressing your boot into your hand. Still smiling, you pulled the boot back on and laced it up while Papyrus stood up. When you glanced up, you saw that he was wearing a slightly less severe scowl.

Scooping you up from the swing and holding you in his arms certainly came as a surprise.

“Woah, hey, I can walk myself, you know.” You gasped out, contradicting your own words by settling against Papyrus, his arms under your knees and around your back. You quickly fell silent when you feel the faintest tremble from where Papyrus held you firmly to his chest. Sighing, you relaxed into his arms further as Papyrus began to head back in the direction of your house. 

Sans fell into step alongside his brother, his expression still a grin with all his fangs more or less back to what you assumed were their normal length. But Sans’ eye lights told a different story. They were pinpricks and his hands were balled up in his pockets as he checked on you repeatedly throughout the walk.

“Sorry for making you worry.” You murmured to both monsters. 

Sans’ grin seemed to twitch a little wider as his eye lights went back to a regular size. “no problem, sweetheart. maybe a little warning next time, yeah? ya don’t want boss’ panties to get in a twist like that again.” Sans looked away, running a hand over his skull. “uh...i can...fix the front door.”

Wow.

You weren’t sure you wanted to ask how the front door met its doom. You slipped your right arm around Papyrus’ back and rested your head against his sternum as you spoke quietly to him. “Thanks for fixing my ankle up. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” You used your left hand to pat his sternum. “And thank you, for coming out so far to look for me.”

Papyrus held you a little closer, and even if he didn’t say anything or even look at you, there was that faint, rattling purr that rose and fell in the cool afternoon air.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 21 Prompt: Hot Cocoa  
> Warnings: none

As winter settled in, you were glad you’d stocked up before the storms had kicked in, dumping a foot of snow with winds that made drifts anywhere from three to four feet high.

This displeased Papyrus, as it made it difficult for him to go on patrol, and kept him indoors for days on end, pacing and scowling when even more snow began to fall. 

Sans took to snoozing on the couch more often, content to cuddle when you joined him in the afternoons or evenings as you read or watched TV, so long as the reception came through.

Papyrus didn’t want to stand still, so in the middle of day three of being confined to the house, the monster began a cleaning spree, manic energy palpable as he stormed about the house.

You kept to your room once it was clear that Papyrus wasn’t going to allow you to help him, so you cleaned your own room before Papyrus could invade and attempt to offer help.

Sans ended up in the middle of your bed at one point, eventually softly snoring when he saw you engaged in cleaning.

When footsteps and loud complaining diminished, you draped a blanket over Sans and exited your room to check on Papyrus. You saw him seated in a chair the kitchen, his left leg propped up on one of the other chairs.

He avoided your eyes as you took the gallon of milk out and poured some in a pan over the stove. 

Feeling a gaze fall on your back, you warmed the milk and poured it into mugs you’d already taken out and put some hot cocoa from a container you’d bought recently. 

Perfect, for days like today, with the flurry outside slowly adding to the amount of snow already on the ground.

Satisfied that the powder was mixed in, you carried the mugs over to the table and set one within Papyrus’ reach, before sitting on an open chair. You hid an amused look when Papyrus picked the mug up and inspected it with a curious sniff before taking a sip.

Crimson eye lights brightened as the monster took another drink.

You noticed Papyrus fussing over his left leg absently, and reached a hand across the table as you drank your own cocoa.

Papyrus slowly moved his hand away from his leg, lacing his fingers with your own as he gave it a gentle squeeze.

”Are you doing all right?” You asked.

”As well as one can be when stuck inside, and unable to know the state of the perimeters of the house.” Papyrus said stiffly, going back to his mug before letting out a sigh. “The security system can only do so much.”

”I don’t think anyone would try to travel in what looks like a blizzard.” You said in an attempt to reassure the monster. “We could always take out one of those new puzzles that came in yesterday. Looks like everything in the house has been cleaned, so you can take a bit of a break, right?”

“A mind puzzle would be welcome.” Papyrus hummed. He set the mug down before bringing your joined hands up so that he could press his teeth to the back of your hand. “Join me?”

”Sure.” You smiled again over the way Papyrus held your hand even as he awkwardly stood up, and then lifted you to your feet with little effort. With your hands still clasped together, Papyrus led the way to the living room. Once the two of you were situated on the floor to scour through the box of puzzles, you decided to try and bring up your and Papyrus’ comfort level with one another. “So, Papyrus, about what you-“

”Here.” Papyrus abruptly thrust a level 3 trinket puzzle into your hands. 

You raised a brow at him.

”Solve it, and we will discuss our...relationship expectations for the week.” 

”Okay.” You’d take that as progress. As much as Papyrus seemed to want to avoid feelings he didn’t know what to do with, you were more than happy to have what had turned into a weekly check-in with the monster, to assure Papyrus that things between the two of you were perfectly fine.

Sans appeared in the living room 15 minutes later carrying three mugs of cocoa. He winked a socket at you, handing you a mug while he discreetly pointed out part of the solution to the puzzle in your hands.

”SANS! DO NOT GIVE Y/N POINTERS.” Papyrus looked up from his own puzzle, narrowing sockets at his brother. “HOW ARE THEY TO SOLVE A PUZZLE ON THEIR OWN IF YOU PROVIDE INPUT?”

”but it’s a no brainer, boss.” Sans said with a sharp grin. 

You glanced at the name brand of many of the puzzles and smirked.

It clicked with Papyrus seconds later.

”NYEHARGGGH! SANS!” Papyrus set the mug down on a coaster with unnecessary force. “DO NOT SULLY THESE TRINKET PUZZLES WITH YOUR HORRID PUNS!”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 22 Prompt: Panic Attack  
> Warnings/tags: lashing out after experiencing a realistic nightmare, fighting/sparring, blood and injury, panic, regret, distress  
> ...This was bound to happen at some point. Reader is too nice to leave someone to suffer, even after specifically being told to keep out of it this time.

Papyrus having a break down in the middle of the night outside, surrounded by blasted piles of snow that exposed the ground, was quite a sight.

You thought you were dreaming until Sans quickly yet urgently brought you back inside the house as Papyrus half turned, his eye lights blazing in their sockets, one brighter than the other. 

“welp, fuck.” Sans ushered you toward your bedroom. He glanced over his shoulder warily, as though expecting his brother to tear the front door down again. “gonna need you to keep outta sight, sweetheart. it’s a bad one.”

”A bad what?” You asked, when you came to a halt inside your room.

”nightmare. boss gets real nasty during these ones.” Sans turned to leave. “don’t want ya gettin’ in the middle of it. would hurt him now if he attacked ya.”

”What if he hurts you?”

”he won’t.” Sans told you reassuringly. “i can wear him down by dodgin’ and annoyin’ the shit outta him till he realizes he ain’t actually seein’ what he thinks he’s seein’.” Sans went into the hall. “i’m too quick fer boss ta tag me as he is right now.”

That didn’t exactly fill you with confidence over the idea of the two monster duking it out. After a moment’s hesitation, you walked over to your window and peeked out.

Sans was now approaching Papyrus.

It sent chills down your spine to see the way the bigger monster merely looked bored after all the destruction, and after looking at his brother, acting as though Sans wasn’t worth his time.

A quick swat to one sharp cheekbone with a tiny conjured red bone seemed to change Papyrus’ mind. The monster bared his sharp teeth, issuing out a savage snarl that was audible through the glass.

Sans flashed a reckless grin at his brother and dared to swat the other cheekbone with another tiny bone.

Papyrus seemed to snap, crimson flaring even brighter in his sockets.

What followed was a spectacular light show of magic, and endless bone attacks erupting from the ground and midair.

Papyrus charged his brother in intervals, using a sharp bone to swipe at Sans.

The shorted monster dodged out of the way with ease, his fangs parting as he said something that only seemed to rile Papyrus up even more.

A particularly impressive display happened when some gigantic animalistic skulls appeared in the air, hovering as they fired what looked like honest to goodness laser beams.

Sans’ words seemed to have pushed Papyrus too far, in your opinion, but you trusted that Sans knew what he was doing.

It looked like a violent sparring match, until you looked at Papyrus closely, and saw the twisted expression on his face, the barred fangs and the crimson eye lights flaring brightly in the night as he tracked Sans.

And the screams.

Those seemed out of place when considering the sight before you. 

There was desperation and hurt in the pure raw frustration those cries gave voice to as Papyrus lashed out. And here you thought hearing Sans cry out in the middle of the night was the most heart wrenching sound you’d heard.

You were wrong.

It was equally heart wrenching to both witness and hear Papyrus screaming himself hoarse while he viciously struck out at Sans. Regardless of the danger, the noise made you want to race outside and wrap Papyrus in a tight hug. To let him know that he was safe here and he didn’t have to fight.

Your self-preservation skills really _were_ shit if you’d risk bodily injury to comfort someone. 

Didn’t Sans just tell you to keep out of it, because Papyrus would react badly if were you injured? You knew Sans was right, but that didn’t mean you didn’t desperately want to run outside this instant anyway. You should have stepped away from your bedroom window and let Sans deal with Papyrus, but you were glued to the sight, anxious and worried about both monsters as they danced around one another’s attacks.

You knew the two brothers were handling their traumas in different ways, but it was so distressing to hear Papyrus scream like that as his attacks became wilder and wilder.

Sans both deflected and dodged out of the way, his left socket blazing a dark ruby, even if he stopped fighting back in that moment, as if expecting something.

That something happened to be Papyrus collapsing in the middle of forming another bone attack.

Sans slumped to the ground soon after, his chest rising and falling in short, sharp breaths, eye light fading from the ruby glow it had been.

Despite the warning and all common sense telling you to stay put, you figured the worst was over, and were outside as soon as you could tug a coat over your shoulders and pull your boots on.

Sans wearily raised his skull, posture stiffening when he saw you step outside.

Papyrus was not unconscious like you figured, as he suddenly bowled Sans over with a rasp of warning, sharp bone in hand as he wheezed out a growl and sharply swung the weapon at you.

Luckily you saw it coming, but you weren’t a trained fighter. You didn’t move fast enough to avoid receiving a rather nasty diagonal slice across your abdomen. Seeing more blood splatter in the snow than you expected, your legs buckled and gave out. The ground rose up to meet you.

There was a sharp intake of air from Papyrus and a steady stream of ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’ issuing out of Sans.

The cool snow felt nice.

The hands carefully maneuvering you away from it, not so much.

You let out a grumble and swiped toward the hands pulling you away from the snow. This clumsy action was rewarded with a shaky laugh and a reassuring caress of a bony hand through your hair. 

Hmm.

Something felt warm now, if a little trembly.

Were you...lying against someone?

It was one of the last conscious thoughts you had as your body decided to helpfully, if belatedly, inform you that not only had you been attacked, but you were also injured enough that someone saw fit to press hard against the injury.

The wound suddenly hurt like a bitch.

You passed out amid a panicked plea to remain awake and a distraught, choked-up sob.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 23 Prompt: Recovery  
> [UF Sans 1st POV]  
> Warnings/addtnl tags: injury aftermath, describing injury and sight of organs (including blood), magical healing, guilt and worry, wandering thoughts, trouble focusing, dealing poorly with emotions, falling back into old routines for comfort, flavor texts don’t lie.  
> [Wow, think this is the longest chapter I’ve written for this fic]

I shoulda fuckin’ known y/n wouldn’t be able to stay away. I shoulda locked them in the house, hell, their room, and dealt with the fallout of that later. It would’ve kept them safe, and I wouldn’t be dealing with the aftermath of terrible fuckin’ decisions. 

In the hallway outside y/n’s room, Papyrus stormed back and forth, highly agitated, though I could see the concern buried deep beneath it. He paused in the doorframe now and again to stare at y/n lying in bed. I watched him closely each time. Papyrus had done this repeatedly in such a small amount of time that I knew he would eventually clench his fists again and stomp off. Papyrus didn’t even seem to care that his limp was worse off than before.

I could see that Papyrus was pretending to not notice that the limb was close to giving out on him after burning through magic and stamina in our earlier fight. Bringing that to his attention just wasn’t worth the aggravation I would receive. He’d deny he was in any pain. And if Papyrus wouldn’t admit that he had a problem with his bum leg, then there was shit all I could do to convince him to sit his ass down and rest.

Papyrus stumbled in the hall and righted himself with a snarl.

I turned to check on him, and saw narrowed dim eye lights staying back at me, as though daring me to say anything. Shoulda told him off then, but I was too burnt outta magic and energy to get into another fight so soon. Eye contact broken, I watched my dumbass little brother resume walking on his bad leg, and only time would tell if Papyrus might possibly hurt himself if he tripped again and happened to fall over.

I sighed. 

What a fuckin’ mess.

For now, I ignored the blood on both of our clothes that belonged to neither of us. At the reminder, I nervously turned back to look at y/n from where I sat on a chair near their bed, relieved to find their chest rising and falling.

Still breathing.

That was a relief.

I don’t think Papyrus would take y/n dying very well. Especially not if he was the cause of death, when Papyrus was still tentatively figuring out what exactly he felt toward them.

When me and Papyrus were first brought to y/n’s house, before either of us realized we had an interest in them, neither of us would have batted a socket if y/n had died in those first few days. It woulda struck me and Papyrus as only an inconvenience, since all we would have lost was a meal ticket and potentially a safe place to stay. 

But as time wore on, there was no denying that the comfort and affection we hadn’t asked for had changed my opinion, and Papyrus’. Enough that we felt that there could be more, and chose to pursue that possibility.

What a difference a whole ‘nother universe brought, where no one had to hunt humans down to break a barrier. That there was safety to pursue a possible relationship when there didn’t seem to be anyone around to stab us in the back like we had at home.

My hands curled against my lap as I bare my fangs, pleased that they all fit together once more, though there was another missing canine fang to match the one I already had replaced with gold.

Well, no one stabbed us in the back once me and Paps left the ruins of the place where the humans had dared to try to keep us trapped.

Growling, I dug my still-dulled claws into the shorts, checking on y/n before allowing my thoughts to drift in an attempt to focus.

Stupid, but it helped.

I figured that this universe either never had a barrier in the first place, or it had been broken for some time before we appeared in this place. I tried not to think about it too much, because then I would begin to wonder if we’d be rudely punted without warning back into our universe.

I dismissed the thought immediately and stared down at y/n again.

It sucked right now to deal with my decision to not make sure they were safe, and their decision to try to help when it was still dangerous. But it only sucked because I didn’t know how to make it better, now that y/n had been attacked by Papyrus. There were other feelings buried deep down that I didn’t want to look at too closely, but the little fuckers made themselves known anyway as I turned it over in my skull.

The lurch I had felt in my soul.

The panic that set in as the attack connected.

Fear when I thought I might have two injuries on my hands I couldn’t have possibly dealt with on my own. It had been a close thing, when I saw recognition, realization and then subsequent horror in Papyrus’ expression.

There was relief, when Papyrus hadn’t done any stupid bullshit because he blamed himself for not being in perfect control. It wasn’t true. If it hadn’t been for the nightmare pushing him into a corner, Papyrus would have stopped the attack had he realized it was y/n. Papyrus might not have noticed, but I knew that he had been doing his damndest to keep his LV in check ever since he’d taken to y/n months ago.

In the past half hour, I’d had to repeat myself that there hadn’t been a damn thing Papyrus could do about what had already happened. That Papyrus had been so deep into his nightmares that he couldn’t have separated it and reality apart until it was already too late.

In the place we lived, neither of us would have batted a socket at some poor schmuck getting sliced up for getting too close. 

Right now?

Both of us were invested, whether we liked it or not. I wasn’t sure what I felt when I was with y/n, but I found that I didn’t want to lose it, and I knew that Papyrus didn’t either. It didn’t matter that he was keeping well away from y/n right now, once he’d run out of energy to heal, as if afraid he might hurt them again. 

The fact that Papyrus even had enough to heal the worse of the open wound after giving his all in a fight against me was damn impressive. Equally impressive was the way Papyrus kept his hands in place over the gaping wound that he’d made.

If I had to stick my hands anywhere near where I could see someone’s insides, in danger of spilling out, I don’t think I could keep steady enough to be of any good to anyone. Healing magic took concentration and mine was shot to hell the moment y/n was on the ground, bleeding everywhere. The intent to heal seemed to be subtlety different than knitting bone back together.

All anyone would see in healing bone was marrow. 

If I didn’t have to see blood and peeks of organs with blood slicked over it ever again, that would be great.

Shit, I really was lucky that I wasn’t pulling double duty by having to play healer. I was shit at it, especially for larger wounds. And yet I’d nearly had to deal with Papyrus going off the deep end by attempting to punish himself for the transgression of harming our shared almost date-mate. Not only that, Papyrus seemed to think he deserved extra punishment because y/n was also the one who’d taken us in when we’d been wounded and vulnerable to attack.

I had refused to Judge him, to give any kind of punishment, especially if it involved KR, when injuring y/n had been an accident. A messy one, but an accident all the same.

Of fucking course the dramatic bastard just summoned another sharp red bone in hand to do it himself.

I ground my fangs irritably.

Fuck.

Just thinking about it pissed me off.

That had been a shitty sight, but I’d managed to quickly put an end to Papyrus attempting to stab himself. I’d forcefully dragged him over with blue magic to bring him over to y/n’s side. The sudden change in gravity was enough to snap Papyrus out of punishing himself for what he believed to be serious transgressions, and brought his attention to the problem at hand.

Kneeling in y/n’s blood certainly made Papyrus kick straight into healing mode.

I saw his hands shaking as he worked, despite the stillness of the rest of his body. Papyrus had poured such potent, desperate intent into the healing that it was staggering. 

Stars, this was fucked.

Y/n should have been treated by a human doctor, but being so far away from anywhere useful while they’d been bleeding out, monster magic would have to do.

Had it really only been a half hour?

I glanced to the side when Papyrus finally entered the room. He even found his voice, though it was defeated in a way I never heard from him as he made a simple statement.

“They’re going to kick us out.”

”fer gettin’ slashed when ya thought they were an enemy? y/n ain’t gonna give us the boot ‘cause ya weren’t in yer right mind. they know we get nightmares. stars above, Paps, y/n has seen both of us havin’ ‘em. i even dug my fingers in and drew blood once and they didn’t demand i leave. they were worried about me.”

“You do superficial damage to those without LV.” Papyrus snapped irritably. “And they’ve never hurt us.”

”go on and Check them then.” I vaguely made a motion toward y/n with a hand. “sounds like they might be wakin’ up.”

Papyrus crossed his arms but after anxiously staring at y/n, I felt him Check. Almost immediately, his jaw went slack with something like disbelief, eye lights brightening. It faded, his jaw setting as he glared at the floor. I watched as Papyrus closed his sockets, as if reorienting himself from what he’d seen in the Check. I didn’t miss the tears, even though Papyrus was completely silent.

Stars above.

I never could’ve imagined Papyrus ever crying again once it’s been stomped outta him before he was even out of stripes. Not a possibility until we somehow found ourselves out of the underground, and fell into the hands of humans. It had led to me seeing more tears than I was comfortable with, becuase I hadn’t been able to protect either of us, when it was clear Papyrus couldn’t at the time. 

But the tears right now?

What the actual fuck had Papyrus seen?

Curious now, I looked y/n over. I focused on their condition, mainly because I didn’t want to think too hard about the discomfort in my soul. Or the way my soul squeezed uncomfortably tight at the sight of bandages wrapped around y/n’s abdomen.

The bleeding had stopped, for the most part, but the slice was still open, if no longer gaping. I wasn’t good enough with healing magic to try to seal it, and Papyrus needed to rest some more before attempting to finish healing up the wound.

I let out a slow breath and did a Check of my own.

The HP was concerning but not as dangerously low as it had initially been. ATK and DEF seemed about average for a LV 1 human. It was the text below that I was interested in, now that y/n was close to waking.

*they are worried about you and Papyrus 

I let out a little disbelieving laugh, not sure why I would have thought I’d find anything but a variation of concern for me and my brother, as seemed to be the norm. Out of curiosity, I Checked again, and in addition to the HP ticking higher, the text had changed.

*they hope you won’t leave them 

“fuck.” I muttered, carefully reaching out to brush their hair back. “that’s what me and boss were gonna say.”

”Say what?” Papyrus’ voice was quieter than it had been in a long while. The tears were gone, as if they had never been there in the first place.

“doesn’t want us to leave them.” I said absently as I stared down at y/n. But I did look over at Papyrus when he made a slight noise. Seeing the barely-there blush, I raised a brow bone. “what? their text tell ya somethin’ else?”

Papyrus _fidgeted_ of all things.

Stars, was this situation messing him up that much? Or was it whatever he’d seen during the check?

“Paps?”

Papyrus said nothing as he about-faced, his left leg nearly giving out this time around as he stumbled out into the hall.

I gave my brother a Check, which he didn’t block, and a faint, if bewildered smile was tugged out into view at the unexpected text.

*your baby brother might be in love 

Of fucking course Papyrus didn’t know what to do with _that_ particular emotion, after all the shit he’d gone though growing up and surviving our hell of a home.

I let out an uneasy laugh and ran a hand over my skull. Fuck if I’d be any help right now, since I wasn’t ready to admit to any such feeling.

Papyrus didn’t say anything more to me that night, probably because he was lost in his own mind.

Didn’t I know that feeling well?

I did half stir when I sensed him come back into the room ten minutes later. But a firm flick near my collarbone where the collar used to rest was enough for me to know it was all right to doze off. I knew that the careless gesture was actually reassurance that Papyrus would stand guard over both me and y/n.

He wouldn’t sleep this night.

I wouldn’t, either, but I let Papyrus pretend that he allowed me the chance to rest.

In the morning, when y/n woke, we’d see what came of a close call that could’ve gone so much worse than it had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh reader lucked out with healing magic being available. No stitches or anything. Also, this story is not going to be medically accurate. Reader prob would have needed a blood transfusion but let’s just say magic helps create more blood cells, etc for convenient plot bullshitting.
> 
> I wanted to skip Papyrus and Sans attempting to figure out how to bring y/n to a hospital right now, when they haven’t been inclined to go further out than a half hour in any direction from the house, or even attempt to interact with anyone, on the phone or in person, apart from the reader. This accident jumpstarts both monsters into realizing they can’t isolate themselves with y/n forever, even if that is preferable at this point in time.
> 
> The next chapter will continue this thread of the story. Obviously reader isn’t gonna kick them out but is shaken and decides those self-preservation skills ought to be worked on.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 24 Prompt: Protective  
> Warnings/addtnl tags: talk of the attack with blood mention, and talk of reader’s crappy self-preservation skills but hey, there’s some fluff by the end and a little ‘oh shit’ moment that’s late in coming re: the attack.

A hand resting lightly across your forehead was what began to draw you into wakefulness. But by the time you woke completely, there was no hand. All at once, you recalled what had happened.

Papyrus experiencing a nightmare.

Sans telling you keep out of it.

A pain that followed you into unconsciousness from an attack Papyrus launched at you, his eye lights barely aware of his surroundings.

Your hand slapped over your abdomen. Bandages were there but the searing agony you’d felt from before had settled into a dull ache. 

“what the fuck were ya thinkin’?”

You jumped a little and saw that Sans was seated on a chair near your bed. Belatedly, you realized that the monster held your left hand tightly in his own.

“boss coulda fuckin’ killed ya! why the fuck didn’t ya stay away like i told ya to? did ya think i was sayin’ it fer the hell of it?”

Sans was pissed as hell at you, but the way there was a faint tremble in his hand as he held your own. 

“I’m sorry for scaring you and Papyrus.”

Sans frowned deeply at you, before his gaze looked to one side.

”I know I should have listened to you, but I thought it was okay once it looked like Papyrus was down.”

“was just catchin’ his breath.” Sans mumbled, turning his eye lights back to you as you gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“But I didn’t know that, and I should have thought things through more than I had. I didn’t get you hurt too by having him knock you over like that?” You received a look from Sans that seemed to convey that he couldn’t believe you were asking about his well-being since you were the one actually hurt.

“boss thought he was back home. you were too close to me and he thought you were going to attack him.” There was a fond sort of exasperation in Sans’ voice. “yer lucky he was so outta it when he moved to protect me that he didn’t strike ya full force. yer also damn lucky he had enough magic left to heal the worst of the wound.”

You checked the bandages, lightly tracing the sore area, before dropping your hand with a grimace and holding Sans’ hand tighter. You hadn’t thought the injury was that bad but then again, there had been a lot of blood, and you’d likely been in shock from the injury.

“there’s still some healin’ left to be done but fer now, paps is probably gonna wait until yer asleep again.” Sans hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward the hall. “he slipped out before ya woke up.”

“I don’t blame him for what happened.” It made you feel terrible that Papyrus felt like he needed to stay away after attacking you. “I didn’t listen to you, and you’d know best what was going on with your brother.” You stared down at the bedsheets. “Is Papyrus mad at me too?”

“only mad at ya fer bein’ a dumbass in a dangerous situation.” Sans grumbled, looking away. “and no, paps ain’t mad at ya. he’s more scared he might hurt ya again. thinks yer gonna kick us out fer what he did.”

”But it was an accident! He wasn’t thinking clearly!” You insisted, wincing a little as you sat up and tugged at the bandages, making the dull pain flare up.

Right.

Not completely healed.

Reluctantly, you laid back down.

”don’t matter if it was accident or not.” Sans sighed irritably. “still gonna blame himself fer not bein’ in perfect control.” The monster looked you over, as if making sure you hadn’t hurt yourself. “if ya need to get some more sleep ya can. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

You didn’t know how Sans knew it, but you really were worn out. Guess that was what happened when one got sliced open. But you didn’t rest for as long as before, and the next you woke, you felt a radiating warmth against your abdomen.

A hand rested there, much like you’d felt a hand on your head the last time you’d begun to wake.

Issuing out an inquisitive noise, you sleepily opened your eyes.

Papyrus was looming over you, his hand on your abdomen the source of the warmth.

Magic.

Sans had told you that Papyrus was going to finish healing you, though he likely didn’t realize you’d wake up so soon, catching him in the act.

”Hi.” You managed woozily. “Didn’t see you in the room earlier.”

Papyrus’ entire posture stiffened, even if the healing magic continued on. He wasn’t looking at you, his eye lights dim in their sockets. When the warmth of the magic faded, you almost reached out to seize Papyrus’ hand when he drew it away. But you hesitated, not sure if he’d welcome touch right now.

Apparently, Papyrus took your decision the wrong way, as his eye lights dimmed further and he woodenly turned away.

“Wait.” 

It seemed to take a great deal of effort for Papyrus to do so. He slowly turned to look down at you, eye lights focusing and growing brighter when he saw you hold your hand out to him, a quiet offering. Papyrus sockets closed briefly before he took a step closer and knelt down next to the bed, carefully taking your hand in one of his own. 

“I’m sorry. Sans told me to stay away.” 

”I know.”

“I thought it was safe.”

”Sans was not clear with his instructions.”

”Found that out the hard way, but it isn’t your fault. It’s mine for not actually thinking things through with the situation.” You felt Papyrus’ hand twitch against yours and gently held on to keep him in place. “I think I’ll take the whole incident as a wake up call that I need to start being more careful. My mum always did tell me when I was growing up that I had zero self-preservation skills.”

For some reason, this seemed to distress Papyrus, because he looked at you then, eye lights sharp and focused as his voice took on a hard edge. “What?” 

You didn’t tell him everything but you did give a few examples, such as trying to pet every animal you came across as a kid, and taking the longest time to understand that you couldn’t just walk in a crosswalk and expect that everyone in a vehicle would magically stop to let you pass.

Papyrus looked pained, his hand tightening around yours reflexively. When it looked like he was trying to calculate how often you’d demonstrated this to him, you spoke up.

”It got better for me as a teenager and even now, as an adult. I don’t take as many chances as I used to.”

”Except when it comes to Sans and I.” Papyrus murmured quietly, looking away.

”And I did just say that I needed to work on being more careful when I want to help the two of you.” You said, bringing his attention back. “I need to be more aware of what is going on before getting myself involved, especially if I’m strongly encouraged not to. Like, really think about it before running off into the unknown.”

“...you will let us stay?” Papyrus asked.

”Of course. I don’t blame you for something that you can’t control.”

“Then I will take it upon myself to assist you with being more aware.” Papyrus squeezed your hand once more before letting go. “Rest. You need to finish healing.”

“I feel like I’ve already rested a lot.”

”Rest some more. My healing magic seems to have some relaxation effects on humans.”

You realized how warm and sleepy you were, when you’d been awake and on the edge of tears but too worn out to let them fall. 

”I will stand guard.” Papyrus told you firmly. “Sans is procuring food for lunch.”

That struck you as amusing because Sans always complained about Papyrus’ increasingly elaborate meals and how Sand felt that his offering of hot dogs was the most he was willing to do work for preparing meals.

It didn’t occur to you until you woke later in the day that Papyrus was comfortable enough to remain in the room with you. That meant he wasn’t worried about losing control around you, so it was only those terrible times that he had realistic nightmares that Papyrus didn’t trust himself around you. Suddenly, you remembered what you’d wanted to do.

You made Sans grin sharply as you stumbled out of your room, without a shirt, wearing only pants and the bandages.

Papyrus remained frozen in place next to the table, setting down what were indeed hot dogs.

You walked up to Papyrus to give him a hug, once he saw you coming in for one and lowered himself a tad bit to meet you for it. “Thank you for using that healing magic. I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”

Papyrus held you snugly against him, seemingly forgetting to be aloof when his brother was around.

Then, you reached up, took Papyrus’ sharp cheekbones in your hands, and gave him a kiss.

Sans cracked up from where he was guzzling a mustard bottle as Papyrus’ skull rapidly turned red. 

You noted the use of a middle finger aimed Sans’ way before you were surprised as Papyrus scooped you up in one arm, holding you against his chest. With his other hand he retrieved a plate of food, and march-limped toward the front of the house.

”We are going to start your training right away.” Papyrus said with a sigh. “You are far too forgiving to someone who nearly eviscerated you.”

”Love you too, worrywort.” You patted Papyrus’ sternum. “Accident is an accident and I promised to be more careful. I even made sure you saw me before I gave you a hug just now, you know?”

Papyrus stopped walking and stared down at you in what appeared to be shock.

Why in the world were his eye lights so small?

Papyrus’ skull hadn’t lost the red tinge as he robotically set you down on the couch in the living room and shoved the plate at you, which you took. 

Ignoring the food, you watched with interest as Papyrus went straight for the front door, wrenched it open, and went outside. 

A loud, rather shrill, drawn out frustrated yell with a more elated ‘nyeh heh heh’ mixed in could be heard.

”congrats, sweetheart.” Sans suddenly dropped onto the couch to grin at you. “ya confused boss by goin’ outta order of what his date manual says.”

”What date manual?” You turned to fix Sans with a confused look of your own. “I thought he hadn’t admitted to going on dates?”

”You considered ‘em dates?” Sans asked with a smirk.

”Yes?”

”did us hangin’ out count as dates then?” Sans pressed with a bigger grin.

“If you want? I thought we were still testing the waters, but do you want to make it official or something?” You rolled your eyes at Sans as he scooted closer to snuggle into your side and wrap an arm around your bandages back.

”maybe.” Sans’ blunt phalanges traded across skin and bandages. “gonna have to ask Papyrus if yer gonna be date mates with him. though if he doesn’t get a proper date in first he’s gonna blow a gasket and wonder where he went wrong tryin’ ta romance ya properly.”

“Maybe when he doesn’t look at me like he might break me with his eye lights.” You said.

”let him help ya train ta pay better attention to dangerous situations so that ya don’t get shanked or torn apart. that’ll help a lot gettin’ him ta calm down.” Sans suggested as he snuggled closer to you.

”Should we go bring your brother back inside?” You asked, turning your head to brush a kiss to the side of Sans’ skull. 

”lesson one.” Sans drawled, as he nuzzled your neck. “let my bro wear himself out and come back in all on his own. might be swingin’ some attacks around right now to get it outta his system.”

”Get what out of his system?” You wondered.

Sans gave a shrug that meant everything and nothing all at once, content to nuzzle your skin while he slipped an arm around your back.

When Papyrus came back into the house and slunk off to his room, you decided that you would need to have a discussion with him. But at the very least, he wasn’t avoiding you, as Papyrus came back out into the living room and took a chair before he took out a battered-looking book.

”that’s the dating manual.” Sans muttered, though he wasn’t actually trying too hard to keep his voice down. “maybe an actual date won’t be too far out after all.” 

You burst into laughter at an expertly aimed pillow that directly smacked Sans in the face, thrown by a flustered Papyrus.

”I WILL NOT HAVE INTERFERENCE, BROTHER! KEEP TO YOUR OWN MANNER OF PURSUIT.”

 _There_ was the volume you hadn’t heard today.

The lighthearted break into the seriousness of last night was welcome. Which was why it wasn’t surprising when, during Sans and Papyrus bickering with one another, you ended up having breakdown of your own as what could have happened really set in.

You could have _died_ , and it was only monster magic that had kept you alive. 

Between one moment and the next, you found Papyrus and Sans holding you tightly between them on the couch. Neither of them said anything, but you could almost _sense_ the protectiveness they were displaying. As though they were trying to make sure you knew that they were both there.

It helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus does not know how to emotion properly. Goes outside instead to scream in confusion and elation over the human dropping the ‘L’ word casually while not even being proper date-mates yet (even if a tentative relationship is being tested with weekly check ins because Papyrus wants to do things properly-Sans is enjoying sitting back and watching while he just plops himself down and showers reader in kisses and puns).
> 
> Some conversations need to be had as well as some other things worked on between the characters.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 25 prompt: Campfire  
> Warnings/addtnl tags: none  
> (it became more about a fireplace indoors than out but oh well it is what it is).

In addition to texting when days were too difficult for interaction, there was now the decision to toss an article of clothing outside the guest bedroom. That would be used as a way to show that a nightmare had been experienced and that comfort was wanted, even if it couldn’t be asked for through speaking aloud or texting.

If there wasn’t anything in the hallway, and you’d been woken by screaming or the thump of bone attacks being flung, you were to keep your distance until one of the brothers let you know it was safe to approach. 

This was decided on as a temporary solution.

A tentative ask about therapy ended abruptly because Sans shut down completely over the very thought and Papyrus scoffed over the idea of talking to someone about what they had experienced.

You didn’t bring it up again, but at least both monsters now knew that speaking to someone in person or on a computer was an option. But since they clearly had no desire to open up about their experiences, then you weren’t about to pressure them into it.

Hence the ‘toss the clothing in the hall’ idea for those nightmares that still happened for both brothers several times a weeks, resulting in some sleepless nights. But you’d gone along with it, trying to be better about being aware of potential dangers.

Right now, despite the early hour, you decided you wanted to try and cheer up your houseguests aka potential boyfriends (or date mates, as they put it).So you opened the door to the family room that you’d kept shut, mainly because it seemed best to introduce more areas of the house at a slow pace.From their unsurprised expressions, they’d likely already checked it out as soon as they’d been well enough to move when first brought into your home.

You’d figured that was the case.

Both Papyrus and Sans wanted to make sure that your home was secure.

“Why do you call it a ‘family’ room?” Papyrus surveyed the room with a quick flick of eye lights.

“I’m not sure? It was just a term I went with growing up. The living room was more for when guests came over. The family room was further back in the house, so people coming over didn’t tend to go back there to socialize.”You walked over to the fireplace and checked the wood inside. It was sufficient for now.   


You took a crumpled up piece of paper and tossed it in, and used a stock lighter to set it on fire. Using a poker, you coaxed the fire up, and the slid through glass door closed to prevent stray embers from slipping out. Satisfied, you backtracked to a closet and carried out a laughable amount of pillows and blankets threatening to tumble out of your arms.

Sans perked up, picking up on what you had planned, and helped you arrange a comfy nest of pillows and blankets on the floor.

Papyrus stood nearby to watch, his arms crossed with a faint scowl as you and Sans cuddled up amongst all of the soft fabric in front of the fireplace.

“Are you going to join us?” You asked Papyrus.

“IT IS EIGHT IN THE MORNING.” The monster replied curtly, pressing fingers to his scarred left socket, as if it pained him that he even had to explain. “WHAT POINT IS THERE TO LAZING ABOUT ONCE YOU ARE AWAKE?”

“Kisses?” You ventured with a raised brow. “Telling you how great you are for getting the furnace to work again, so that I didn’t have to pay a fee for someone to come out and do it?” You wore a sneaky smile. “We could also work on you hugging me while I’m awake?”

Sans snickered at the way Papyrus seemed to briefly freeze up.

You prodded Sans’ ribs beneath his shirt, while he retaliated by wrapping an arm around your waist.

“THAT IS...SOMEONE HAS TO BE THE RESPONSIBLE ONE IN THIS HOUSE! HOW ELSE ARE ANY CHORES TO BE DONE, MEALS TO BE COOKED, AND PATROLS TO BE HAD?”

“Is up to an hour delay to be cozy in front of a fire going to throw a wrench into your schedule for the day?” You asked, knowing how much Papyrus enjoyed having structure to his day. It wouldn’t hurt to check. You and Sans could always have a little make out session of kisses and heavy petting otherwise, unless the two of you dozed off.

“AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL EVENING TO COZY UP.” Papyrus gestured to the pillows and blankets. “IT IS FAR TOO EASY TO ENCOURAGE MY BROTHER INTO LAZINESS.”

“but i get ta be lazy with y/n this way.” Sans said smugly, leaning against you. “s’nice and comfy.”

“UNBELIEVABLE! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU AND SANS ARE ATTEMPTING TO DRAG ME INTO A LAZY DAY!” Papyrus stalked out of the room, hands gesturing wildly as he loudly complained. “THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS WILL NOT BE LURED BY Y/N’S PROMISES OF INTIMACY. I HAVE HIGH STANDARDS TO BE MAINTAINED AND WILL NOT BE LED ASTRAY UNTIL I HAVE COMPLETED MY TASKS FOR THE DAY!”

“give him a moment.” Sans yawned as he pressed his face into the side of your neck to nuzzle. “he’s gonna go do at least one of the chores.”

Just as you closed your eyes to enjoy the warmth from the fireplace and being in a start of a cuddle pile, you heard Papyrus return to the room almost completely silent. But you felt him snuggle up against your back, jawbone resting above your head as he grumbled at his brother, assuming you’d dozed off.

“you’re too soft on them, brother.” Papyrus whispered, fingers now tipped with claws carefully running along your abdomen, a tingle of healing magic against what was becoming a thin line of a scar.

“they ain’t from our home, paps.” Sans mumbled back. “but if ya mean them not bein’ aware of danger and all that, said ya’d help them with that, right?”

“And you don’t think this scenario is dangerous at all?” Papyrus asked, still gently stroking your abdomen with the flat of his fingers, heedful of claws.

“can always use a short cut if huggin’ y/n gets to be too intense fer ya, boss.” Sans sounded gleeful. “never had a problem sittin’ and huggin’ on the couch on your ‘dates’. or when ya snuck in ta cuddle with them in the middle do the night.”

“Those were not proper dates.” Papyrus immediately objected, latching onto the former and not the latter statement.

“I think dinner and a movie or dinner and going on patrol with you counts as a date, if you want it to.” You sighed against Papyrus’ sternum.“Even just dinner, because your cooking is amazing.”

Papyrus went completely still before he lifted his head and scooted down in the pile of blankets to press his sharp teeth against the side of your neck. He breathed in your ear as he drew away. “As flattering as you are of my cooking skill, do be patient. I have been consulting my dating manual and have some plans lined up if they work for you.” Papyrus successfully stifled his brother’s attempted commentary with a pillow.“Tomorrow, I’d like to go over those ideas with you.”

“Sure.” You said, bemused as both brother’s arms tightened around your waist.

Sans later bemoaned from beneath the pillow still over his face about how terrible Papyrus was at properly wooing a date mate with such boring, almost clinical talk.

Papyrus promptly tossed him out, pillow and all, into a snow drift in retaliation to go on patrol while he went off to cook a late lunch.

You let your feelings be known about his ‘plans’ by kissing a sharp cheekbone before fleeing the scene as Papyrus flushed and moved around the kitchen and clanging things louder than before.

Predictably, Sans was already back inside and lounging on the couch in the living room, checking the security cameras on a tablet as he gave you a conspiratorial wink.

Silence reigned until Papyrus took notice.

“SANS! GET YOUR COCCYX BACK OUTSIDE!”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 26 Prompt: memory lane  
> Warnings/addtnl tags: none

You were woken by a muffled scream followed by a louder one, this time a desperate plea.

Being woken by something that Sans and Papyrus couldn’t control never bothered you. 

It never had, since you knew that the screaming, the pleas, or the lashing out was a direct result of nightmares from the trauma the brothers had gone through in their past. While you didn’t know what exactly happened, bits and pieces were falling into place with information gathered over the time they’d lived with you. 

It seemed like such a long time ago when you’d brought Sans and Papyrus into your home, when it had only been about seven months at this point. But it had been a very welcome change in your life, and despite the injuries they’d had, you couldn’t imagine going about your days without them. Life had become very mundane, and lifeless, out in the middle of nowhere, but it you’d felt it was a change you needed. 

A decision you never regretted, and especially not after meeting the brothers.

Peering out into the hallway, you glanced down the hall. You’d heard a scream that cut through the nonsensical dream you’d been having. 

It had been weeks since Papyrus or Sans had a nightmare bad enough that they lashed out at the world around them. 

Time to see if that new system would work, as you really didn’t want to accidentally walk into danger again.

Cautiously, you crept down the hall, close to the wall, until your eyes adjusted to the gloom, and found the guest room door cracked open. A smile tugged at your lips at the sight of not one but two shirts haphazardly thrown into the hall. Emboldened, you crossed to the door, but hesitated, hand over the door knob.

Did Sans or Papyrus mean it, with the clothes on the floor, or were they testing you? 

A quick run through of the agreement, about clothing meaning you could enter and nothing in the hall to stay away...you decided it wasn’t a test but would take care to announce your presence anyway. “I’m going to open the door the rest of the way.”

No response.

You didn’t expect one.

There was a lamp on near the door, its dim light barely reaching the beds on the other side of the room.

Papyrus and Sans both turned to you, crimson and ruby eye lights fixing on you with great intensity. 

Gaging their responses, and finding no threat postures, you closed the door most of the way and walked over to the bed. You found that Papyrus was seated on the edge of the bed, Sans buried beneath sheets.

You’d thought the scream had belonged to Sans. 

Papyrus must have been able to draw him out of the nightmare, but clearly, Sans wasn’t doing too well, his appearance more haggard and exhausted than was usual, his sharp grin lessened.

”What do you need?” You asked quietly, silently chiding yourself for not bringing your phone. 

Sans and Papyrus exchanged a quiet look with one another before the latter held out a hand in your direction, crimson eyes burning brightly in the dim of the room.

You stepped forward and lightly set your hand on Papyrus’ palm. The bigger monster’s hand gently closed over your own and guided you onto the bed. Knowing what was silently being asked for, you squeezed Papyrus’ hand, before he let go of you, and let you settle onto the bed sheets alongside Sans, facing him. 

His ruby eye lights were dim but they softened at the sight of you as Sans latched onto you and buried his face into your shoulder as his arm went over your shoulders, phalanges hooking into your shirt. 

You could feel the tension slowly begin to leave Sans, even if he didn’t fully relax. 

Papyrus joined, squeezing his frame on to the small bed by pressing tightly against your back, his arm going over your waist.

You feel Papyrus rest his hand over the lowest part of your scarred abdomen, his claws gently caressing. A little laugh escaped you over the ticklish way Papyrus leaned over to nuzzle your right cheek, and rested his jaw on your shoulder thereafter. 

“m’fine, boss.”

Papyrus scoffed, absently nuzzling his cheek to yours, careful of his sharp teeth.

You weren’t sure what that little exchange between the brothers meant, distracted by Papyrus’ nuzzles. You turned your head to peck his teeth, drawing forth a surprised intake of air. It was a little disappointing that Papyrus moved his skull to rest it on a pillow. Sans’ tired chuckle diverted your attention again, and you kissed the top of his skull, as his face was still against your shoulder.

Nothing was said.

You silently checked up on Papyrus and Sans for the next hour, until the brothers held you tighter between them, as if they sensed your intentions and decided that they didn’t want to deal with too many feelings that night. 

That was all right. 

You’d missed waking up with one or both monsters sleeping on your bed with you, so this was nice.

All of you were all taking this relationship at whatever pace worked, and you were just happy that the ‘clothing or no clothing in the hallway after a nightmare’ worked this night. 


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 27 prompt: emotional support pet  
> Warnings: none  
> Addtnl tags: fluff, before things get a little heated at the end.

Papyrus wearing a guilty expression was new.

It was usually Sans who would wear that kind of a look before trying to charm his way out of whatever he’d done with a grin.

Whatever it was Papyrus had done caused Sans to smirk from where he was splayed out on the family room couch. He was dressed in his red sweater, boxers he’d found in an order he received, and a single sock on one foot.

It was below freezing outside, with still two months of winter to go, and Sans refused to patrol today when he’d literally ‘freeze his coccyx off’.

Ordinarily, the sloppiness and refusal to go on a patrol would have sent Papyrus on a tirade. But for whatever reason, when you walked into the family room, the tall monster froze in place, his eye lights pinpricks.

“Are you all right?” You immediately wondered if Papyrus’ left leg was acting up. He’d certainly been favoring it these past few days after going on patrol, when standing in place could potentially cause joints to lock up. You weren’t sure if the same were true for monsters. “You didn’t hurt your leg, did you?” You doubted it, or Sans would likely not be grinning so much. Reaching Papyrus, who had turned his skull away to avoid eye contact, tensed up the faintest bit as you cautiously laid a hand on his upper arm.

Papyrus didn’t seem to know what to say but his sudden silence and awkwardness, as well as Sans immense amusement, was solved with a single unfamiliar noise.

A tiny squeaky mew.

Sans let out a snicker while Papyrus stood ramrod straight, arms still crossed tight against his body, his jaw clenching hard, as though betrayed over the sound.

“Papyrus?”

The monster continued to avoid your eyes.

”Is that...was that a cat?” You moved your hand from his upper arm to where his hands pressed against his middle. “Where in the world did you find a cat in the dead of winter?”

”You are not upset?” Papyrus’ voice was a bare whisper.

”Of course not!” You have a gentle tug to his hands. “I used to have a cat and dog when I was younger and...I just hadn’t thought to get another pet once they were gone.” 

Both monsters had become quiet.

“Can I see? Please?” You must have reassured the monster in some way, since Papyrus reluctantly moved his hands to undo the button up shirt he was wearing that day. You didn’t even realize Papyrus was dusted red on his cheekbones as you were focused on the tiny ball of fuzz biting one of his floating ribs. “Oh! A kitten!” Without thinking, you reached in and plucked the kitten out of its temporary housing, and touched a paw pad. “It didn’t hurt you, did it?”

Sans had begun to grin again.

”It is too small to cause enough damage. It’s intent is not malicious.” Papyrus finally looked you in the eyes. ”It was in that abandoned cluster of buildings and broken machines.” Papyrus intently studied your reaction to the kitten. “It was alone.”

“Well, if that’s the case...” You checked the kitten and then held her back out to Papyrus. “Want to order some cat supplies for her with me?” You loved the mix of excitement and happiness that lit Papyrus’ face before it went back to its usual frown as he took the kitten and held it in one hand. 

The kitten latched onto a finger with front paws, back legs kicking at the rest of the monster’s hand.

Papyrus did not melt at the sight but it was a close thing as he straightened up to follow you through the kitchen and into the living room.

“hey, y/n, get paps that hoodie ya were tellin’ me about. The one with a pouch so he can carry the furball around without shovin’ it in his ribs.”

”A WHAT?”

Papyrus turned to Sans, who’d followed the two of you into the living room.

It was then that you realized Papyrus’ shirt was still unbuttoned, and that you’d just, well, shoved your hands into his ribs to take the kitten out.

Was that a social faux pas for skeleton monsters?

Your face heated and so did Papyrus’ when he finished speaking with his brother, and noticed what you were staring at.

”Ah.” Papyrus looked down at the kitten in his hand and then brushed the fingers of his other hand to the buttons.

“Here, let me-“ you deftly buttoned the shirt up, hands lingering on fabric as you realized what you’d done. And looked up to find Papyrus intently staring down at you. “Let’s go find my laptop?”

”After you.” Papyrus said, his voice a little rough as if he were restraining himself in some way while holding a kitten in his hand.

”have fun.” Sans called out unnecessarily.

You and Papyrus avoided eye contact, instead focusing on ordering supplies for the tiny kitten now curled up on a pillow, kneading it. 

That went okay, up until the order was placed, and Papyrus decided to reach up to touch one of the buttons of his outfit with a contemplative look on his face.

For whatever reason, you decided to say. “I shouldn’t have just buttoned that without really asking. I could always undo it and let you do it...” You had absolutely no idea why you said that. What the hell kind of offer was that? It was already done and over with. You held still as Papyrus leaned in close to whisper against the side of your head.

“Don’t tempt me.” Papyrus breathed out. “I want to do this properly.”

”I wasn’t trying to? It just...slipped out?”   
  
Papyrus let out an nondescript hum as he leaned back enough to meet your eyes while he slipped a hand beneath your jaw, claws careful against your skin.

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife as the two of you stared at one another.

Sans interjected his opinion on the sight with an exaggerated drawl.

”holy shit. are ya gonna fuck or are ya waitin’ on engraved invitations from each other once ya go on some proper dates?”

Papyrus carefully backed away from you before his expression became a scowl as he launched himself over the back of the couch.

”SANS!”

There was a crash as Papyrus cornered Sans in the family room. There was the sound of a scuffle as Papyrus’ voice rose higher and higher in what appeared to be mortification while Sans’ response was a mix of laughter and complaints about Papyrus being too big to roughhouse with anymore.

You frowned a little as you let the kitten play with a string as Sans’ words really sank in.

Skeleton monsters could have sex? Yes, they were made of magic and Sans had made that tongue but...surely they were just all bones, as Papyrus’ bared rib cage had shown earlier?

Sans suddenly popped into existence on top of your lap, grinning playfully as he wrapped his arms around your back.

”SANS!” Papyrus screeched in a rather shrill way. “STOP USING YOUR DAMN SHORTCUTS! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!”

”wanna make out?” Sans grinned, completely ignoring his brother.

Papyrus stomped back into the living room, crimson eyes focused on Sans.

“don’t mind him.” Sans told you, obviously sending his brother. “he ain’t gonna care if we suck face.”

“Not with our daughter in the room.” You teased, but instead of a laugh you received a very confused look from Sans, which turned to slight fear as Papyrus loomed over you both.

Papyrus glared at his brother, both scandalized and pissed off.

“The kitten.” You were quick to clarify. “It’s kind of a human joke, I guess?”

Papyrus narrowed his sockets Sans before he sighed and seated himself on a chair once he scooped up the kitten.

Sans let out a nervous chuckle before cautiously nuzzling the side of your neck. “so, since my bro got the kitten’s attention...wanna continue where we left off?”

”We hadn’t even started anything.” You pointed out.

”yer right, that’s a damn tragedy. we better fix that.” Sans pressed his fangs to your lips, and that ruby-colored tongue from awhile back flicked out. “been wantin’ ya.” 

“So there is no canoodling to be done in front of the cat, but I do not count?” 

”no one’s tellin’ ya to clear off, paps.” Sans said. “unless yer still set on a proper date before ya smooch y/n freely?”

“I’ll have you know that we have plans set for tomorrow.” 

Oh!

That was right!

”I need to...check my laundry.” It was a poor excuse but you’d been reminded of the upcoming date. And you wanted to see if the gift you’d gotten for Papyrus had come in the mail. You could go by way of the laundry room to cover up slipping outdoors for a mad dash through the frigid air.

“check later.” Sans growled. “m’all comfy on yer lap here and all.”

”Rain check on the make out?” You upended Sans off of you, feeling him let you do so after you gave him a quick hug and peck to a cheekbone. Without looking back, you hurried off with purpose.

Behind you, Sans spluttered over being denied kisses and heavy petting.

Papyrus just let out a quiet laugh at his brother’s frustration. 

The kitten, unbothered by what was going on around her, yawned wide.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 28 prompt: Kissing  
> [UF Papyrus 1st pov]  
> Warnings: brief Underfell violence mention  
> Addtnl tags: none

The date was going perfectly thus far. 

I had planned it exceedingly well, so it was only fitting that everything had gone exactly as intended. I had shown off my expertise in both strategic planning, cuisine and finding a suitable location to take y/n for the date. It was a secluded area I’d discovered while on a patrol.

Extra provisions had been brought along, of course, as I was always one to plan ahead for any potential outcomes of any one scenario. So, once lunch was at an end, and y/n had bundled up in their winter clothing, I gathered those provisions up to store in my dimensional box.

I had refused Sans’ offer to teleport us to the destination, as I didn’t want to make it easy for him to spy on us. If he wanted to do so, he could damn well wander around in the snow until he either stumbled across the location, or he gave up and went back to the house.

And now.

How would y/n react to the spot I had chosen?

I’d made a clearing, free from snow, in the middle of a line of trees and a group of rocks that could lead into a cavern. It provided cover from potential attacks in numerous directions. It was prudent to make certain this place was defendable. I’d scoured this position out for maximum seclusion, as well as an area not as by a breeze.

There was also an old radio I’d found in the closet of the guest room in y/n’s house, and, with a little use of my magic, it’s batteries were kept from dying.

Classical music drifted lightly through the clearing.

I barely remembered the dance I shared with y/n, so focused on following every step of our date to the T.

Until the dancing had slowed, and I was drawn into a kiss. From that point on, I was firmly grounded, plans be damned in that one instant. I wrapped my arms around y/n’s back and returned the kiss. Nuzzling into their neck, and making the faintest use of a crimson tongue, I tested its reception.

Receiving affection had never been easy for me once I was out of stripes. I knew by then that any kindness shown in my home might be blackmail in the making, or a stab in the back if I let my guard drop. That any promises may be broken the instant another, better deal came along. Strike first and ask questions later was a must if one would survive to see another day. Dust was a constant sight, and everyone, no matter their feelings, got used to dust sticking to ones clothing or armor.

This place.

This universe was a welcome breath of fresh air.

There was no dust in sight.

It was...refreshing.

“Papyrus?” 

I shook the dark thoughts from my mind, despite keeping my vigilance up, even when I leaned over to press my teeth to y/n’s lips lightly. I couldn’t find any words, so I allowed my actions to be my answer.

The kisses were wonderful.

Clinical at first, going by what I had read. I had nothing to compare a kiss to but those shitty cartoons that Sans and Alphys watched in the past, before everything had gone to hell. I did have my brother’s sneaky kisses to observe, but I wasn’t interested in using such a sloppy technique of ‘sucking face’, as Sans so crudely labeled it.

I found myself wanting this moment to last, standing in that clearing kissing y/n, but most unfortunately, I knew that I’d reached my limit of remaining outdoors for the day when I threw a bone attack at a frightened animal.

Y/n thankfully did not question me when I began to lead them away from the clearing, indicating that I wanted to head back.

I was...I felt something when they gasped in surprise over the way I brought a blanket out of seemingly thin air.

”Dimensional box.” I offered, as I wrapped y/n in the blanket, another layer of protection against the cold. If my leg complained of the extra time in the cold, I ignored it as I carried the bundled up human back to the house. I could not help but let out a quiet ‘nyeh’ when y/n leaned up and pecked my nearest cheekbone.

I looked around to attempt to hide my flushed skull as I ran down my usual ritual when returning from a patrol.

Check to be sure that no incidents had occurred while I was away.

I had found nothing of note to be concerned of while outside.

There had been no ambushes to defend against.

No EXP or LV gain.

No dust.

It was a good day.

This outing, along with the meal beforehand, had been a perfect date in my mind.

Once inside of the house, and the winter attire stored away, I brought y/n to the family room at their insistence. Setting them down on their feet, I seated myself on the couch to wait as y/n disappeared into a closet and then came back out with a box.

A gift?

I stiffened, my fangs snapping together tightly as I grimaced.

How foolish of me.

I had forgotten a crucial step from the dating manual. Before I could apologize or try to figure out what to do, y/n pressed the box into my hands.

”I did some research about monsters and dating. Though I think your manual is different than the one I found.” Y/n pointed to the package in my hands. “I asked Sans about some gift ideas, so...this came in yesterday.”

I raised a brow bone archly at that. Knowing my brother, he might have attempted to encourage a gag gift and yet...the look on y/n’s face said otherwise. I opened the box, and removed the tissue paper that was wrapped around...around...

”Papyrus?”

I told myself my fingers weren’t trembling when I lifted out a long crimson scarf. It looked eerily like my old one I’d lost, though this scarf was not tattered from years of wear and tear throughout countless battles to survive. Stroking the tips of bare phalanges across the fabric, I reverently picked up the scarf. I wrapped it around my neck in a similar fashion that I used to wear my previous scarf. I quietly reached out to pull y/n onto my lap, to wrap them in a hug as I shamelessly pressed my teeth to the top of their head. It was a bold move but one that seemed welcome as y/n leaned against me.

”You look good in red and black.” 

I let slip a laugh.

A genuine one.

It was unfamiliar but felt...

Something smacked the back of the skull.

Startled, my magic sparked to life as I held y/n to my chest while I blindly slung an attack backward.

”s’just me, boss.” Sans was suddenly in the living room, sweat beading on his skull, which meant he’d barely managed to dodge my attack. “no need to try and tag me.”

My sockets closed.

Sloppy.

Both of us were becoming too accustomed to what had become a safe haven. We could t let our guards drop completely or we would later pay if there were any other humans like the ones we had first come into contact with.

”papyrus.” Sans voice was firm.

Of course he’d recognize my expression when I thought back on...unpleasant times. I took a breath and let it out, trying to dismiss discomforting thoughts that wouldn’t quite leave me. I leveled a quick Check on Sans. No harm done to his HP, though there was a single tear to my brother’s jacket that shouldn’t have been there had he been on full alert.

“YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO THROW THINGS AT ME, REGARDLESS OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.” I growled at Sans, who did not look properly chastised for his actions. “YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN GONE BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO TEAR YOUR JACKET.”

”just thought ya needed a pair of gloves ta go with yer gift.” Sans, naturally, avoided any conversation about what I’d actually told him, and blinked out of existence before I could say anything more.

”Gloves?” Y/n questioned as they held up red, long sleeved gloves. I thought of them as gauntlets, when I was younger, and these particular gloves looked suspiciously like my original pair that Sans had found for me. My present for joining the royal guard. Only...these gloves were cleaner than I remembered them being.

If Sans had gone back to _that_ place, just to retrieve a pair of gloves. Then he was likely not in a good place mentally, and I nearly thought back to being there when Y/n offered me the gloves, successfully diverting those thoughts. I slipped the gloves on, tugging them up almost to my elbow. I flexed my claws into the little slots that were inside of the tips of the gloves, which were there to avoid catching the fabric and ruining the gloves.

It seemed I was correct in my assumption.

My head tilted up and I caught sight of a pair of eye lights watching me from a distance, before they winked out of sight.

...It seemed that I was going to be having a very long discussion with my brother. Before I gave y/n my attention for the rest of the evening, I sent Sans a text message.

_Will you have trouble sleeping tonight in the room alone?_

Awesome bro: _m’fine. not a babybones. enjoy the rest of yer date. be gentle with them._

One socket twitched at the way Sans managed to change his name in my contacts, but I dismissed it even as I changed it before I tapped out another message.

_Inform me if that changes. I do not relish the idea of my clothes catching fire again by one of your gaster blasters._

Pain in my coccyx: _proud of ya fer the pun. gonna frame yer text and show it off._

I groaned in annoyance at the slip up.

_If you wish to live, leave no record of it._

I knew Sans would ignore the threat, as I received no response in return. I sighed, knowing that I would likely see said picture in the future when I least expected it. My brother could follow through on something if he felt it was worth his time and energy.

”Everything okay?” Y/n asked, still seated on my lap and resting their head against my sternum. 

”That remains to be seen.” I stated stiffly. “It depends on what Sans decides to do with something I said to him.” I was quiet for a moment as I absently adjusted the new scarf around my neck as I met y/n’s eyes. ”May I kiss you again?” 

“You may.” Y/n looked like they were trying not to laugh at my asking them that in what seemed a business-like manner.

I inwardly scoffed as I leaned in to press my teeth in a gentle kiss to their cheek.

Not everyone was a pushy like Sans, lazily if charmingly dropping in out of nowhere to bestow kisses.

I had high standards, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor papyrus is so focused on things going well he doesn’t get to enjoy the date as much. Good thing he’s going to want more of them.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 29 prompt: Cuddling  
> [UF Sans 1st POV]  
> Warnings: self-harm, blood mention  
> Addtnl tags: none  
> Note: the cuddles happen toward the end. Needed some sibling bonding first, apparently.

Memory of snapped bones.

Screaming.

Crying.

The constant exhaustion and sleepless nights.

There was no rest for me that night, and it was fuckin’ stupid of me to even think I’d be able to get even a little bit of sleep after nearly being hit by one of Papyrus’ attacks.

I groaned as I woke covered in a sheen of magic.

Great.

Just fuckin’ swell. 

I remained in my magic soaked sweater, ignoring the dull pain I felt. I didn’t care to change because I was too worn out from over exerting myself yesterday. When I’d decided to keep an eye on y/n and Papyrus while the two of them continued their date outside. I didn’t think anything would happen since Papyrus was always so damn thorough with his scouting on patrols but I wasn’t leaving that up to chance.

My bones rattled faintly, mainly due to staying in the cold much longer than I should have. When the frigid air actually shaved off a few decimals from my HP, I’d reluctantly returned home.

I lied to my brother last night when I said that I was fine.

I wasn’t. 

There was an ugly gouge of scratches on the left side of my collarbone from my own fingers, near where Papyrus’ attack had cut through my jacket. I may have cracked bone before I’d woken up, digging into my own bones frantically with whatever had chased me into wakefulness. I ran a Check and let out another groan.

0.5/1 HP

Fuck.

I was damn lucky that I didn’t dust myself on my bed with the intent I’d been feeling while half-awake. It was lucky I’d happened to have a few extra HP stocked up from all the rest I’d been getting lately. But the self-inflicted injury was going to draw attention no matter what I did, as I knew Papyrus was going to come into the room at some point to make sure that I was actually all right like I said.

Dammit.

It pissed me off how out of practice I was in dodging attacks, and knew for damn certain I was going to get lectured on that, along with injuring myself unintentionally.

And what do you know?

I was right.

Papyrus came into the guest room ten minutes later with a slam of the door.

It was a test.

One that I failed because I refused to move.

My brother’s disapproval was palpable when he saw that I was lying listlessly on the bed, my guard completely down like a fucking idiot. And I was staring up at the ceiling, too, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence. 

“Sans.”

A warning.

One that I didn’t give a single fuck to follow right now.

”Sans.”

It wasn’t like Papyrus was going to actually hurt me in this universe. Not when we didn’t have to keep up appearances around other monsters. But it seemed like I wasn’t able to keep my emotions under lock and key, because Papyrus must have sensed the pain that was within my soul that I’d tried to keep hidden last night. The injury made it noticeable now.

”If you do not-“

”mornin’ already?” I cut in with a yawn, knowing full well that Papyrus wouldn’t miss the way I stumbled over my words. “ya musta been a perfect gentlemen last night if i didn’t get woken up by the two of ya.” I didn’t mention that I barely slept. It was a given that my brother would figure out I was hurt.

”Where are you injured? When?” Papyrus said right on cue. He was across the room, on edge and bristling, crimson eye lights bright with trepidation over what he may or may not find. “Here?” Gloved claws lightly plucked at the tear that had gone through my sweater. Not from his attack last night, but from my own phalanges, despite them not being as sharp as they used to be.

“dunno.” A lie, with the torn sweater. “sometime ‘fore i woke up?” Best guess as to why I’d woken suddenly and stayed up over half the night. I heard a thin sound of distress that was stamped out as Papyrus’ voice rose, terse as he exposed the left side of my collarbone.

”THERE IS STILL MARROW LEAKING FROM THIS INJURY. WHY DID YOU INSIST YOU WERE FINE?” Papyrus admonished as he carefully held the sweater aside to look at the damage. Whatever he saw made his eye lights vanish. 

Had I missed a Check?

Fuckin’ stars.

I must be more worn out than I thought to not have noticed a Check.

“Did you have a buffer?” Papyrus voice was deathly quiet, as his eye lights reappeared as tiny pinpricks.

”yeah. don’t recall how much. but m’fine now. didn’t dust m’self.” I insisted, before shutting up a brief second. There had been a sudden and very overwhelming influx of healing magic as Papyrus pressed his fingers against the bloody wound I’d inflicted on myself. “ya don’t need ta-“

“SHUT. UP.” There was no anger behind the words.

”didn’t dust.” I repeated, but didn’t raise a hand to try to push Papyrus away. “m’all right. don’t worry ‘bout it.” I sighed and closed my sockets against the magic. Broken bone knitting back together was always a discomforting sensation when I was awake to feel it. “didn’t wanna mess up yer date night with y/n.” My voice was unsteady, struggling to focus while being bombard by such forceful healing that was all but demanding that I heal right this instant.

”You didn’t fully dodge my attack.” Papyrus stated, his fingers trembling against my collarbone as he let the healing magic continue to flow out. “I could have dusted you if the construct had gone just a little further through your hoodie.” The anger came rolling in as Papyrus’ voice raised. “WHY THE _FUCK_ DID YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO TOSS SOMETHING AT ME FROM BEHIND? WE BOTH HAVE YEARS OF REACTING VIOLENTLY TO POTENTIAL THREATS. THAT ISN'T GOING TO GO AWAY AFTER LESS THAN A YEAR OF SOME PEACE AND QUIET.”

”i fuckin’ know that.” I couldn’t work up the energy to argue. My sockets hadn’t even opened while I lie limply on the bed. “sorry, boss. wont happen again.” 

“You will stay here until I feel that you are stable enough to have something to eat.”

”m’fine.”

I didn’t move.

Papyrus rested a hand on my shoulder before he swept out of the room. Papyrus shouldn’t have to worry about my fucking pathetic HP. Papyrus had his own troubles to worry about. His own _traumas_ to worry about. Papyrus didn’t need to take care of the both of us. I could take care of myself.

“Sans?”

It was y/n.

”sorry, sweetheart, yer just gonna have to wait to be wowed on a date with me.” I decided a joke was better in that moment than showing just how pathetic I felt this morning.

The bed dipped and I sighed as I felt y/n carefully wrap their arms around me.

“well, i guess we can always have a date right here.” I gracelessly turned over and half flipped on y/n to greedily accept the affection being given. “gonna make it real good for you.”

“You do give some great hugs.” Y/n agreed as they settled down. “How about we just lie in bed until Papyrus comes to tell us that we need to eat?” 

”sounds like a good time to me.” I pressed my face into y/n’s shoulder. It was quiet for a time until y/n pressed a kiss to my skull and whispered to me.

”I wouldn’t have been offended to cut the date short if you really needed Papyrus last night.”

”paps deserves some happiness.” I mumbled into y/n’s shoulder, feeling them squeeze me tighter to them.

“Yes, he does, and so do you.” Y/n said, absently petting the back of my sweater. “But I also don’t like to think how you were hurting all night while trying to give Papyrus and I alone time. Papyrus seemed unhappy when we woke up this morning. Said something about you being an idiot?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Sometimes my brother was too damn perceptive, and called me out on my bullshit. I didn’t want to drag anyone else into my problems, especially not my brother. Papyrus shouldn’t have to deal with my screw ups when we weren’t underground anymore, and he had no royal guard obligations. Like this morning, when I tried and failed to hide the self-inflicted wound I would have dealt with.

Eventually.

The healing magic had relaxed the tension in my bones from the pain and I felt... safe. That was likely a by-product of Papyrus trying to reassure me without words that I would be all right. That I wouldn’t dust. It was an echo of what the collar had felt like.

I kept my sockets closed.

Papyrus was an idiot too.

A sentimental one.

He didn’t need to waste magic like this when I could have healed slowly on my own time.

I sagged against y/n, unwittingly cuddling closer as I drifted off. While it wasn’t a long rest, it was enough to get my soul to settle down, and as a bonus, the pain was gone, the healing magic having done its job.

Clarity set in when I fully woke up and found y/n tracing nonsense patterns into my exposed ulna and radius. A brief flash of possessiveness for y/n went through me when Papyrus entered the room, and he responded to my reaction with a hint of bared fangs.

”Ready for breakfast?” Y/n asked, wriggling out of my grasp and grabbing a hand to bring me to the edge of the bed.

My feet hit the floor and I wrapped a hand around one of y/n’s as Papyrus stepped forward to grasp their free hand.

”Oh? I get an escort to the dining room?”

”gotta practice fer the dates.” I said easily, as I lifted my head to exchange a look with my brother, who offered a brief, serious nod in return.

The meaning was clear.

Y/n was ours.

Ours to have as a date mate.

Ours to protect.

So long as y/n would have us, which seemed to be the case with every passing day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case I didn’t mention it, I do plan to continue this storyline as a series (long one shots and short stories with 5-10 chapters or so). I have things I’d like to explore that I didn’t get to with these prompts.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 30 prompt: Confession (as before, another chapter was written that doesn't exactly have to do with the prompt)  
> Warnings: None  
> Additnl tags: mention of collar use in Underfell (a take on it)

Winter was finally coming to an end. 

Only a few weeks more, and you'd start to see the ground again. 

But this left you with a predicament that you weren't certain how to approach now that Sans and Papyrus lived with you.

Every year, at the tail end of winter, you would pack up a suitcase, toss some other necessities in your car, and go drive to the nearest city. Once in said city, you would spend a few days at a hotel while you went to some shops you liked to see the products in person rather than online. You would also splurge some money at a vintage arcade and then mindlessly wander around a large mall. Once you got your fill of people watching you would inevitably retreat back home to the middle of nowhere after crashing hard one last night in a hotel.

You looked forward to this trip each year, but you weren't certain it was a good idea this year. Not when you had two (new) monster boyfriends (date mates) who hadn't exactly interacted with anyone but you for nearly an entire year. And you wouldn't dare ask them to come with you. Not right now, with whatever they had gone through in their past. You doubted that they would be able to suddenly handle being around a whole lot of people, and you didn't want anyone to accidentally get shanked by a sharp bone construct.

It seemed likely you would just postpone this year, as you were quite happy to spend your time in Sans and Papyrus' company.

Eventually, though, you would need to take your car out for a drive, just to make sure that it ran, after starting it and letting it idle throughout the winter.

Maybe you could introduce Papyrus and Sans to further reaches of the area in a car, without anyone else around?

"yer thinkin' real hard about somethin' again, sweetheart."

"Just about what I normally do once winter is almost over with." You said, leaning into Sans' side as he plopped down on the couch. An arm slid around your lower back to hold you closer.

"and what's that?" Sans absently brushed the tips of his phalanges against the waist of your pants.

"I take my car and go drive to the nearest city." You rested a hand over his to prevent wandering. "Spend some time going to the mall. Maybe walk down some lanes with shops, and then go crash at a hotel for a few nights."

Sans stiffened against you.

"ya go to a city, filled with a lotta strangers, by yerself?" 

"Yes?" You carefully closed your hand around Sans' hand.

"by yerself." Sans repeated, voice devoid of emotion. "where anyone can follow ya wherever yer goin'? with no one watchin' yer back?"

"Yes, by myself. Usually. The past few years, at least." You thought about it. "Before that, some of my friends would join me, but they've moved further away, so it's not as easy to meet up."

"are ya outta yer fuckin' mind?" Sans' voice rose from its laidback, drawling nature. "someone coulda hurt ya."

Oh dear.

Well, this was a talk that was eventually going to happen. 

You knew that Sans and Papyrus were both showing a protective streak when it came to you, and more so after you'd accepted their advances in being date mates with them. 

"BROTHER, WHY IS YOUR SOUL BROADCASTING SO LOUDLY WHEN BEFORE IT WAS SILENT AND-"

"didja know that y/n here has gone off to a city on their own, with all the wackos around?" Sans cut in, hand grasping yours tightly in return, as though he expected you to leave right now.

"I am an adult, and this is a thing that a lot of humans do." You told both monsters. "Humans tend to travel, so there are a lot of hotels and motels around, for us to stay at while away from home."

"YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ACCOSTED WHEN YOU HAVE TRAVELLED AWAY FROM HERE?" Papyrus stood in front of the pair of you and stared, arms crossed once he fastidiously adjusted the scarf around his neck.

"No?" You pat the open space of the couch next to you. "But I also don't make it a habit to wander around the streets at night."

After scrutinizing you a little longer, Papyrus lowered himself onto the couch. The monster sat up straight, his skull turned to look you in the eyes with an intense crimson stare. 

You wanted to find a way to reassure both monsters, but this definitely told you to postpone the trip. That was fine with you, but you would like to get out of the house and go somewhere at some point. Even you got cabin fever, all the way in the middle of nowhere. Maybe you could just go on that drive in your car, just to get out of the house?

A knock sounded on the door.

Oh hell.

You'd forgotten all about a delivery coming today. Hadn't you left specific instructions to leave the delivery at the end of the drive? 

As expected, Sans and Papyrus were both on their feet in an instant, bristling with magic as they both formed bone constructs. 

You were quick to get on your feet, only to be gently moved back onto the couch with a heavy sensation in your chest, that lingered and prevented you from getting back up.

"Window." Papyrus told Sans curtly.

"Someone is just making a delivery." You spoke quickly, worried one of those constructs might be thrust through the door at whoever was on the other side. "It's about the time they said it would be here."

Papyrus cut a look your way before approaching the front door.

"no visible weapons but that don't mean a damn thing." Sans uttered from the window, pitching his voice low. Hit tone had a faint trace of unease. "s'nother skeleton monster."

Papyrus cocked his head to the side, considering, presumably, this information. He unlocked the door as if he were diffusing a bomb. Papyrus abruptly pulled it open, doing his best to be a tall and looming presence. 

With his skull in profile, you could see a scowl that brooked no nonsense. The voice outside was too quiet for you to hear apart from a lazy laugh that seemed to rub Papyrus the wrong way as his scowl deepened. With a few curt, unfamiliar words, Papyrus took the packages and all but slammed the door shut in front of whoever had been standing on the doorstep.

Neither Sans nor Papyrus relaxed until the monster who had been outside presumably left.

Sans, in fact, actually vanished on the spot, while Papyrus brought the packages over.

The heavy sensation on your chest left and you could move freely again.

Since Papyrus was agitated, you allowed him to open both packages, as if he expected explosives in them.

The kitten, dubbed Chaosmaker by Papyrus, suddenly leapt onto the coffee table with a quiet meow. Quick as a flash, she stole a cat toy stuffed with catnip that had been in the larger box and rushed off to kick the mouse with glee.

"The rest of the cat supplies should have just been in the one box." You said, watching as Papyrus opened and peered into the smaller box. "What's in that box?"

The monster quietly pulled out a collar of all things, and stared down at the leather, spikes and buckle, an unreadable expression on his face.

Sans popped back into existence, looking less on edge, until he saw the collar his brother held. Sans' usual grin faltered for a moment before it hitched back up. "oh, it came in the mail already, huh?"

Papyrus' eye lights went from the collar to Sans, who shifted from foot to foot, hands stuffed in his jacket's pockets'

"told ya i wanted ta replace the one those bastards cut off." Sans stared down at his shoes. "i know it don't matter in this place as much as back home, but it ain't gonna hurt to be cautious if we run across another monster again, like just now."

You felt there was something that you were missing, and realized that you, Papyrus and Sans hadn't exactly talked a lot about their past, and perhaps this was one of those monster culture things?

"You could have directly asked me and I would have been sure to find one sooner." Papyrus said, eyes going back to the collar he held, unbuckling it to take a good look at it, and letting out an appreciative hum. "At least the material is of better quality than the previous one."

"if it passes your approval, then hand it over." Sans said, though he didn't make any motions to take his hands out of his pockets. 

"What's it for?" You asked, catching a glance shared between the two brothers.

Papyrus lit the collar up with crimson magic, quiet for a moment before speaking. "Where Sans and I come from...collars are useful to ward off monsters from trying to dust someone who is under another's protection."

"my HP is shit, so it wouldn't have taken very long fer someone to decide to take a swing at me. made me good at hidin' and keepin' myself on the move till boss got enough exp and lv to make a collar matter." Sans shuffled over to Papyrus, and took the silently offered collar, looping it around his neck and buckling it. Imperceptibly, Sans appeared to relax, and, with the collar loose around his vertebrae, slouched over to sit on the couch with you. "was a shitty time before ya found the two of us on yer property."

Papyrus set the box of cat supplies on the floor for Chaosmaker to live up to her name, and rejoined you and Sans on the couch.

There was a long silence, before you took out your phone, and sent both monsters a text when it seemed neither of them could do more than sandwich you between them protectively. Both brothers checked their phones almost at the same time before they leaned into you, Sans rattling out a slow purr while Papyrus rested his jaw on top of your head.

A quiet day of snuggling it was.

You sent one more text, and felt both monsters tense before relaxing once they'd read it. You had some questions about what had just happened with the delivery and the whole gravity weighing you down. But if Papyrus and Sans were still on edge, then an actual conversation could happen later that day, or even tomorrow. Taking the whole self-preservation thing seriously meant that you wanted to find out more about your date mates, and they, you, so they wouldn't bristle over the idea of you driving out to the city.

But for now...

You took silent comfort from Papyrus and Sans as they pressed close to you on either side.

As before, you'd told yourself you'd take things day by day with Sans and Papyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at that, I finished a multi-chapter story! Thanks for checking it out! I really do appreciate the reviews and the kudos/bookmarks (I don't ordinarily respond unless there is a question, as I like to leave stories with as accurate review counts as I can-I'd love it if Ao3 could make it so when you respond to a review, it doesn't count AS a review). But I always tend to go ahhhasdkfakjfa 💗 when I read the reviews.
> 
> As I said in the previous chapter, I do plan to make this a series of long one shots or stories that are approx 5-10 chapters. I am not sure when I'll post the next part. It could be anywhere from tomorrow to months from now, inspiration/mood permitting. (I have also been thinking about it, and kind of want to have it be that UF Sans and UF Papyrus ended up on the surface of Underswap, since it always seems to be the original Undertale everyone ends up in).


End file.
